Fear No Evil
by bluetonic4390
Summary: "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blow your brains out right now," Ellie threatened, pointing her revolver at the man standing in front of her. "Because I'm your father, Ellie." Set right after the end of The Last of Us Part I.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So I had this pretty cool idea for a story for TLOU (SERIOUSLY THE BEST. GAME. EVER.) so I thought that I'd put it in writing! This takes place directly after the end of the first game. Also, this is NOT JoelxEllie or anything romantic like that. This is Joel/Ellie as a father/daughter type of relationship!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any part of The Last Of Us. All rights go to Naughty Dog.**

"Swear to me."

"What?"

"Swear to me that everything you said about the Fireflies is true."

"I swear."

"Okay."

"Now let's get to Tommy's. We're almost there." Joel said, gesturing towards Tommy's town. Without saying anything, Ellie continued walking behind Joel.

"You know, there might be some people your own age there. I reckon that we're going to start living normal lives from now on," Joel continued, hoping that Ellie would continue the conversation and not see straight through his lie.

"Yeah maybe." Ellie responded, seeming uninterested. Joel sighed and continued walking, deciding that Ellie wanted to process everything on her own. She had, after all, placed faith in the Fireflies that they could do something wonderful with her immunity. Something that defined her purpose.

" _You have to tell Ellie the truth someday."_ Joel thought to himself, frowning at the thought. He knew that somehow, some way, the truth would come out. Joel knew that Ellie would be beyond furious, maybe to the point where his actions would be considered unforgiveable, if she found out from someone other than him. After all, the chances of other Fireflies finding out what Joel did, or the chances that even just one slipped away from Joel during the entire hospital incident, were probably high. There was officially a big target on Joel's back. He knew that there would be some sort of revenge attack or attempt to kidnap Ellie and bring her back for 'surgery' at some point.

He had to protect her.

"Look, we're at Tommy's now." Joel pointed out, looking at the large gate ahead of him. Ellie smiled lightly and looked away, staring at the ground.

"Well, I never thought I'd see your god damn face again big brother," A voice from above the gate said. Ellie and Joel looked up and saw Tommy grinning at them. He quickly opened the gate and let them both inside. He ran up to Joel and the two shared what Ellie called a "man-hug".

"I missed you Tommy," Joel said while hugging his brother, smiling.

"How have you been, Joel? Did you find everything you needed with the Fireflies? I thought that Ellie—"

"Another time, Tommy. We're actually pretty drained. It was one hell of a journey." Joel interrupted. Tommy nodded.

"How have you been, kiddo?" Tommy asked, looking down at Ellie.

"Fine I guess. I'm glad we're safe now," Ellie responded, smiling at Tommy.

Tommy, Ellie, and Joel began walking further into the town. Joel had never actually explored the area, since he spent his time killing bandits instead.

"Well, now that y'all are safe and sound, it's time that you guys start living normal lives again. That means that you two will live in a house, Ellie you'll be attending school—"

"School? Are you fucking kidding me?" Ellie cried out, exasperated.

"Ellie, watch your mouth." Joel warned, earning a frown from Ellie.

Tommy laughed out loud at Ellie's comment. "C'mon kiddo. Every kid has to go to school. It's important to learn math and science and—"

"Yeah yeah whatever." Ellie mumbled, kicking a small rock that was in front of her. The rock bounced off a house.

"Plus you'll meet people your own age. You can make some friends and have a chance at a real life. Plus, I'm sure you're tired of hanging out with this old grump," Tommy laughed, gesturing to Joel. Joel rolled his eyes.

"Somehow, I highly doubt that." Ellie responded, smiling at Joel. Joel couldn't help but smile at Ellie's comment. He felt a pang of guilt hit him, but he ignored it.

"I reckon you two have become a lot closer since you last came through Jackson," Tommy said, observing the sudden change in the attitude the two had towards each other.

"Joel? Ellie?" A voice called out. The three spun around and saw Maria running towards them.

"Hell, I didn't think you'd be coming back." Maria said, smiling at the two. She leaned up and kissed Tommy on the cheek.

"How have you been, Maria? Have you been treating my brother well?" Joel asked jokingly, smiling at her. Maria laughed.

"She most definitely has," Tommy mumbled, earning a light smack on the shoulder from Maria. Ellie scoffed and rolled her eyes at the couple.

"Anyways, I was coming here to tell you that dinner will be ready in twenty minutes. We have a dining hall just over there," Maria informed, pointing to a large white building in front of her.

"Dinner? What are we having?" Ellie asked, her stomach suddenly growling. Hell, it had been nearly a day since she had last eaten.

"Roast deer with mashed potatoes and salad. Oh, and strawberry parfait for dessert." Maria replied, smiling at Ellie.

"I have no idea what any of that is except for salad and deer," Ellie said, earning a laugh from the adults standing with her.

"I reckon you'll like it, Ellie." Joel commented.

"We have a house for you guys, if you'd like. Do you guys want to live together, or do you—" Tommy started.

"Together." Ellie interrupted. "Uh, if that's fine with you Joel… I uh,"

"Tommy, I'd love to have a house for me and Ellie," Joel said. Ellie, who had been feeling empty and vulnerable ever since the incident with David, had a sudden feeling of happiness growing inside her. She looked up at Joel and grinned.

"We have quite a few available actually. Right this way." Tommy said, leading them to a neighborhood.

The neighborhood consisted of a bunch of houses that must've been around before the outbreak of the Cordyceps infection. They were surprisingly in good shape and Joel didn't see any houses that were damaged or in ruins.

"Okay, houses 5, 8, 11, and 15 are open right here. Maria and I live in 1." Tommy said, pointing to a house on the corner.

"What do you think, Ellie? Which one do you like?" Joel asked.

"Wait, I get to pick?" Ellie asked, surprised.

"I don't see why not. Plus I'm sure you have better taste than me." Joel replied.

"I have to get back to helping Maria, but I'm sure you can manage finding a house. The keys for each of those four houses are under the doormats. We had some of the guys in the engine room make new ones since the original keys are probably long gone." Tommy stated. "Anyways, see y'all at dinner!" Tommy walked off, letting Joel and Ellie pick their home in private.

"Hmm.." Ellie walked down the street, inspecting all four available houses.

"Well houses 8 and 15 are only one-story and they look smaller than 5 and 11. I think it would be cool to have a house with stairs or some shit. Looks more complete. Maybe house 5 since it's closer to Tommy and Maria." Ellie stated, staring at the houses. Joel laughed lightly.

"Okay baby girl, house 5 it is." Joel said, nodding at the house. Ellie definitely did have better taste than he did. She picked the house that looked the most spacious, and was the most visually appealing on the outside. The house was made of red bricks, and had a small but cozy front porch. It was two stories tall and had a white painted lining around the door and windows. It looked a little worn out, and the paint was chipping, but it was a damn good place to live. Most importantly, it gave Ellie and Joel the chance to start a normal life.

Ellie and Joel went up to the house and Joel pulled out the key from under the mat. He opened the door and a cozy living room greeted them as they walked in. There were two couches and a small coffee table set up. On the far end of the living room was a doorway that led to a kitchen.

"This place is pretty fucking sweet." Ellie commented, looking around the living room.

Joel walked through the doorway in the living room, which revealed a medium-sized kitchen. A stove, microwave, oven, and fridge were all set up.

"I wonder if these things actually work." Joel wondered out loud, walking over to the stove. He turned one of the knobs on the stove, but it unfortunately did not start the fire that a normal stove would. He pushed a few buttons on the microwave, but it didn't turn on.

"Well, we can't get too comfortable too fast, can we?" Joel muttered. He turned around and noticed Ellie wasn't standing behind him.

"Ellie?!" He yelled.

"I'm over here!" Ellie yelled back. Joel sighed in relief. He was still in that protective mode that he had been in when he was traveling with Ellie. That panic mode that set in him whenever Ellie wasn't in his sight.

Joel followed Ellie's voice and found her looking at a stone setting on the wall. There was a hole in the wall with ashes in it.

"What the fuck is this thing?" Ellie asked, pointing to it.

"That's a fireplace. People use it to make fires in their homes for warmth in the winter. The smoke comes out the chimney."

"Oh, I see."

"You wanna take a look upstairs?" Joel asked, pointing at the stairs that were not too far from the fireplace.

"Sure," Ellie said.

The two walked up the stairs, which revealed three bedrooms and two bathrooms. One of the bedrooms was a lot bigger than the other two, which Joel figured was the master bedroom. The other two bedrooms were smaller, but still big enough to comfortably live in.

"Wow, multiple bedrooms. Looks like you and I can sleep separately and use our own bathrooms now." Ellie commented, shifting uncomfortably. She wasn't exactly sure how she felt about sleeping away from Joel, even though it was just across the hall.

Joel felt strange as well. It was going to take some getting used to to not sleep with Ellie right beside him.

"Yeah." Joel said. "Hey, we should get to dinner. Tommy n' Maria are waiting. I reckon you're quite hungry."

"I'm fucking starving, let's go!" Ellie exclaimed, running off.

"Slow down kiddo!" Joel yelled, running after her.

The two went to the dining hall where some volunteers were serving the deer, salad, and mashed potatoes. Ellie and Joel grabbed a plate and were given generous portions of deer, salad, and mashed potatoes. They looked around the dining hall, where there were tables set up.

"Joel! Over here!" Tommy called from the middle of the dining hall. He was seated with Maria.

"C'mon baby, let's go sit them them." Joel said to Ellie, who nodded and took a seat next to Maria.

"Hey guys," Joel greeted, eager to eat. He and Ellie were used to scarfing down whatever food they could find or hunt down, and Joel almost forgot about the proper table manners that people had when eating with company.

"So, Joel, which house did you end up picking?" Maria asked.

"Ellie and I picked house 5, the one just a few doors down from you n' Tommy. It's a nice, cozy place. Ellie picked a good one." Joel said, looking at Ellie. He opened his eyes in surprise when he saw Ellie shoving deer meat in her mouth, one bite after another, without completely chewing her food or closing her mouth.

"Ellie, we're not traveling alone anymore. Please eat slower, god damn you'll choke on the food." Joel said, trying not to laugh. Ellie immediately stopped and turned red.

"Oh shit, sorry. I forgot about fucking table manners." Ellie said, starting to chew the food more slowly.

"Ellie, what did I tell you about the swearing?"

"Oh, right. Sorry." Ellie looked up at Tommy and Maria, who just laughed and let it go.

"It's quite alright. I think that after what y'all went through some swearing doesn't matter." Tommy commented, taking a bite of the deer.

"The deer is really good, who made it?" Joel asked Maria, quickly swallowing it so that he wasn't talking with his mouth full of food.

"Me and a couple of people who work in the kitchen. They're pretty good cooks. There's one right now!" Maria said, gesturing to an older woman who was walking around with an apron.

"Milly!" Maria called. The old woman, who heard her name, came over and smiled at Maria.

"The deer is really good!" Ellie said, smiling at Milly.

"Why, thank you dear! I always loved to cook so I'm glad you're enjoying it." Milly responded.

"I'm Ellie, and this is Joel." Ellie said, introducing herself and Joel.

"Milly. Pleasure to meet you both!"

Milly smiled at the two and walked off to the kitchen. Ellie's plate was practically empty, and her stomach had never felt so full in her entire life.

"Oh man, I ate so fucking much." Ellie said, leaning back against her chair. She stretched her legs out and put her hands on her stomach. Joel chuckled.

"I told you not to eat so much that fast. Your body isn't used to eating this much. Just try to take it slow." Joel advised.

"Who wants dessert?" Milly asked, coming back to the table with a tray full of strawberry parfaits. Ellie, ignoring the fact that she was already stuffed, grabbed a bowl.

"Ellie, you said you were stuffed."

Ellie ignored Joel and took a bite of the fruity dessert. It was some sweet and cold type of yogurt topped with strawberries. The bottom of the bowl was coated with some sort of golden colored crust.

"This is so fucking delicious! Thanks Milly!" Ellie cried out, stuffing herself even more.

"Oh dear, you've got quite a sailor's mouth there." Milly commented. Joel raised an eyebrow at Ellie as a warning to behave. Ellie looked at Joel and smiled awkwardly.

"Uh, sorry Milly." Ellie mumbled, pushing around a strawberry with her spoon.

"Just don't do it again. I don't like swearing." Milly said, walking off.

"Jeez. She went from adorable grandma to stick-up-her-ass in a second." Ellie whispered, so that only Joel could hear it.

"You can have the rest of my dessert. I'm really really full now."

Joel, without hesitating, took Ellie's spoon and quickly ate the rest of her dessert. Maria looked at Joel, a little bit surprised, since she remembered that he wanted to get rid of her the last time he was in Jackson.

"Guys, thanks for the dinner. It really was delicious. Ellie and I are absolutely drained. I think we should head back for the night." Joel said to Maria and Tommy.

"Of course. Have a good night. Oh also, the power is down right now but it should be running by tomorrow morning. Maybe you can make some breakfast in your own house with the food in the cabinets. Or you can come to the dining hall again. We serve food three times a day." Maria informed. Joel nodded and stood up.

"Good night." Ellie said, walking off with Joel.

Joel and Ellie walked back to their house, which was only five minutes away from the dining hall. Joel took the time to understand his surroundings and get a familiar feeling of the area.

"So what'd you think of dinner?" Ellie asked, breaking Joel's concentration.

"It was good. I haven't eaten like that in a long damn time."

"Same. I'm so full it feels uncomfortable to walk." Ellie said, groaning. Joel laughed.

"Take it easy next time. Hopefully I'll be able to fix you up a small breakfast tomorrow mornin'."

Joel and Ellie both walked back to their new house. Joel pulled out his key and opened the door, entering inside with Ellie.

"Ya know, I think that both of us need showers." Joel said, brushing off some dirt and dust from his worn out shirt.

"Yeah, we both stink probably. Will the water work?"

"Let's try it."

Joel and Ellie walked upstairs and into the master bathroom. Ellie walked up to the shower and turned the knob.

Nothing.

"God fucking dammit!" Ellie cried out, kicking the shower wall. All of a sudden, some pipes began to creak inside of the walls.

"Ellie, what did you—" Joel couldn't finish his sentence because the two of them suddenly got drenched with cold water.

"Hey, I got the shower to work!" Ellie exclaimed, laughing at Joel's shocked expression. The two quickly hopped out of the shower, leaving a puddle on the floor.

"You can go first. I think you need that bath more than I do." Joel joked, earning a shove from Ellie.

Joel laughed and walked to the bedroom, where there were cabinets and drawers.

"Fuck you man, you smell like shit too." Ellie said, looking through the cabinets and drawers for towels and clothes. To her surprise, she found a stack of clothes in one of the dresser drawers. She pulled them all out and placed them on the bed.

"What do we have here?" Ellie said, looking through the clothes. She pulled out a black T-shirt, which was far too big for her small frame. She held up the shirt, which said, "My parents told me I could become anything, so I became an asshole" in bright white letters. Ellie laughed.

"Oh man, this is fucking amazing! I'm so gonna wear this!" Ellie exclaimed. She grabbed a pair of shorts as well, which was a little too big for her as well. She noticed strings hanging from the pants, which meant that she could tie it as tight as possible.

"Of all the shirts in the world, the person living here before us decided to buy that." Joel said, rolling his eyes. "Hell, it is pretty funny though."

Unfortunately for Ellie, there were no extra bras or undergarments for her to wear. " _I'll just wash those while I'm in the shower and hang them to dry in my room._ " Ellie thought.

"Okay, I'm gonna go in the shower." Ellie said, closing the door and hopping into the shower. Joel sighed and looked through the pile of clothes, deciding on an old Bob Dylan T-shirt and a pair of shorts that looked like they could fit him perfectly. He even found some clean boxers.

"Oh man, my hair is so fucking dirty!" He heard Ellie yell from the shower.

"Just keep cleaning the dirt out!" Joel called back. He walked over to the over bathroom on the floor, seeing if it would work. Sure enough, it didn't.

After about twenty minutes, Joel realized that Ellie was taking a really long time in the shower. He knocked on the door.

"Ellie! You've been in there long 'nuff!"

"Sorry sorry! I'm done now!" Ellie called back. Joel heard the water turn off, and a few seconds later Ellie came out of the shower, wrapped in a towel. She was dripping wet, and her hair was down.

"I've never seen you without a ponytail," Joel commented, smiling at Ellie.

"That's because it's hard to kill off those hunter fuckers or clickers with hair getting in the way." Ellie said, walking over to the clothes she chose. Joel walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Ellie changed into her new T-shirt, smiling at the message written across it. Ellie walked to the room next to the master bedroom and placed her undergarments, now clean, to dry.

Joel stepped out of the bathroom about ten minutes later, looking a lot cleaner and fresher than before. The dirt from his hair and face was all gone, and he had a towel wrapped around his waist. He put on the Bob Dylan shirt and the shorts he found, happy with the fact that they both fit comfortably.

"Ellie?" He called out, hearing no response. Once again in the panic mode, he rushed into the hallway and into the next room – only to find Ellie asleep in one of the beds. He noticed a revolver sitting on the dresser right next to her bed, perfectly within arms reach. He sighed in relief and walked over to her.

"Good night baby girl." Joel whispered, leaning down and kissing her on the forehead. He looked at her lovingly one last time before going back to his bedroom to sleep.

 **AAAAAND that's a wrap of chapter 1. I know it was kind of slow and nothing exciting really happened, but I needed to set the setting and the background before getting into the really good stuff. I think that seeing how Joel and Ellie will fit into this town's society is important. After all, details are super important, and they definitely help in the understanding of the future events. BUT DON'T WORRY! I have some really exciting stuff for you guys planned. In the meantime, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW (and follow/favorite)! Reviews and feedback keep me going on the story! I already know what's going to happen in Chapter 2 (it's a lot more eventful than chapter 1 hahaha) so please please please please REVIEW so that I know you guys want me to go on!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I'm back with Chapter 2 for the story! Thanks to those who reviewed/favorited/followed, feedback is always appreciated! I know the story just began so not too much has happened yet, but good things come to those who wait, right? ;)**

 **Disclaimer/Legal Bullshit: I don't own The Last of Us. All rights go to Naughty Dog.**

After seeing that Ellie fell asleep in her own room, Joel walked to the master bedroom and lied on the bed. It was surprisingly comfortable, with a soft bouncy mattress and decently clean sheets. It was strange being this comfortable, since he and Ellie usually slept on the ground outside or in a crammed car. He pulled the covers up to his neck and closed his eyes.

Joel felt somewhat strange and alone, since he was so used with Ellie sleeping right beside him. He stretched his arms out, taking advantage of the king-sized bed that he was about to sleep on. He of course had his shotgun leaning against his desk within arms reach, just in case any trouble stirred. After everything he and Ellie had been through, there was no being careful enough.

Joel closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep. He thought it would be easy, since he was so tired and constantly deprived of sleep.

" _God dammit._ " He thought, while tossing and turning in the bed. After about an hour and a half, he just started to drift off when he felt something move near his arm. Alarmed, he sat straight up and was about to reach for his shotgun, when he realized that it was Ellie who was climbing into his bed.

"Oh fuck, I was hoping you were asleep. I didn't mean to wake you." Ellie whispered, sitting on the edge of his bed. Joel smiled, feeling suddenly happy. He patted the bed with his hand, giving Ellie space to lie down next to him. Ellie, thrilled that Joel was fine with her sleeping next to him, grinned and lay down next to him, pulling the covers up.

"Can't sleep?" Ellie asked, facing Joel.

"Not really, kiddo. Why did you wake up? You were asleep a few hours ago."

"I had a bad dream." Ellie said, yawning. She looked up at Joel and smiled lightly, waiting for him to say something.

"Well, you can sleep here if you aren't used to your room yet. I reckon this place will take quite a bit of adjustin."

"Mhmmm," Ellie mumbled, already getting sleepy just from Joel's warmth. She closed her eyes and felt something tickling her face. Realizing it was Joel kissing her cheek, she smiled widely and moved closer to him, which Joel didn't mind at all. After a few minutes, the two both entered a deep, peaceful sleep that they hadn't had in over a year.

Ellie woke up to something hot touching her face. Stirring slowly in bed, she cracked open her eyes and noticed that the window was open. The sun was shining directly on her. She sat up in bed, feeling very well rested and awake.

" _Wow, I haven't slept like that in a loooong time. I feel pretty fucking good._ " She thought, smiling. She stretched out her arms and looked to her side, noticing that Joel was still asleep.

" _That's the first fucking time I've woken up before him._ " Ellie thought. She was happy though, to see Joel peacefully sleeping like that. He deserved it, after all. She realized that every night they spent together, Joel would always sleep with one eye open. He probably didn't sleep more than three hours a night.

Ellie climbed out of bed quietly and entered the master bathroom. She looked in the mirror and noticed the T-shirt she chose to wear the night before. Laughing silently at the message, she opened the drawers in the bathroom cabinets and checked for toothbrushes, or any sort of oral hygiene materials.

" _Come on, there has to be something in these fucking drawers. I'm tired of using expired mouthwash,"_ Ellie thought to herself while looking through the drawers. She opened the bottom cabinet and saw actual toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste sitting inside.

"Fuck yeah!" She exclaimed, taking everything out. There were three packaged toothbrushes and a large tube of toothpaste. Ellie turned over the toothpaste, which had expired back in 2020.

"Oh well, better than nothing." Ellie put a generous amount of toothpaste on one of the toothbrushes and scrubbed her teeth.

" _Wow, it's literally been over a fucking year since I properly brushed my teeth."_ Ellie thought, slightly grossed out at the idea. She brushed every single tooth over and over again. After about seven minutes, she spit everything in the sink.

"Please make the water run, please make the water run," Ellie prayed out loud, turning the knob on the sink. To her delight, a small trickle of water came through the pipes.

"Yes!" Ellie exclaimed, her mouth full of foamy toothpaste. She spit everything out and rinsed her mouth, feeling cleaner than ever. She exited the bathroom and saw Joel stirring in his sleep. His eyes slowly opened.

"Good mornin' old man!" Ellie exclaimed, tying up her hair in its usual ponytail. Joel sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes.

"Well shit, I haven't slept that well in years," He commented, smiling at Ellie.

"I can't believe I got up before you did. I didn't wanna wake you." Ellie replied, walking up to him. Joel got out of bed and ruffled her hair, messing up her ponytail.

"Hey! Thanks a lot asshole." Ellie complained, redoing her hair. Joel laughed and went into the bathroom.

"Oh, I found some toothbrushes and toothpaste in one of the drawers. I already used the blue one so just open a new pack. Also the toothpaste is expired as fuck, but hey better than nothing right?"

"Thanks Ellie." Joel replied, starting to brush his teeth. Ellie grinned and went to her room. She picked up her dry and tattered undergarments and put them on. She put on the same graphic T-shirt and shorts and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

"I'm so fucking hungry," Ellie said out loud, looking through the cabinets. She found some packaged food.

"What do we have here?" Ellie pulled out a rectangular blue box from the cabinet. "Kraft Mac n Cheese? What the fuck is this shit?" She pulled out a few cans of soup, a jar of "Nutella", and random packaged snacks. She heard Joel coming down the stairs.

"What are we gonna eat?" Ellie asked. Joel chuckled.

"You were so full last night and now you're starvin' again?"

"I have a lot of eating to catch up on." Ellie retorted.

"Kraft Mac n Cheese? Hell, I never thought I'd see this stuff again. I used to make this for Sarah all the time, since I couldn't cook real food."

"Is it good?"

"I reckon a kid like you would love it. Tommy said the kitchen stuff should be workin' by now, let's see." Joel walked over to the cabinets and pulled out a pan. He poured some water in it and dumped all of the mac n' cheese inside.

"I'll cook this for breakfast. Hell, we slept in so late it's probably close to lunch now."

They heard a knock on the door. Joel cautiously approached it, looking through the peephole. Seeing that it was Tommy, he opened it.

"Good mornin' you two," Tommy greeted, smiling at him and Ellie. "Well, more like good afternoon. It's about 12:30, we missed you at breakfast." He looked at Ellie's shirt and smirked. "Nice shirt, kiddo." Ellie laughed.

"We kinda slept in," Ellie said, causing Joel to smile sheepishly.

"We're cookin up some of that mac n cheese we found in the cabinets." Joel said.

"Sounds pretty good. Anyways, I just came by to check on you two and see how y'all are adjustin. Do you guys have enough basic supplies? Water runnin' okay?" Tommy asked.

"Everything is great. The water only runs in one shower, but I reckon that Ellie and I don't mind taking turns in the same shower."

"I'm glad it's goin' well. Also, I came here to tell Ellie that school is startin' tomorrow. It's in that blue building across the dining hall. Starts in the mornin' around 9 and ends at 1." Tommy informed, earning an eye roll from Ellie.

"I already have to fucking go to school? I thought I'd get at least a few weeks before going to that shit," Ellie groaned, earning a laugh from Joel.

"It'll be good for ya kiddo. You'll make new friends and this town will begin to feel more an' more like home." Tommy replied.

"How the fuck am I supposed to know when to even go? It's not like I can check the fucking time. There's no clocks." Ellie retorted.

"Actually, now that we've got the electricity goin', you can set up an alarm clock. There should be one in the dresser drawer. Joel, I'm sure you can plug it in."

"Would be happy to," Joel replied, earning a glare from Ellie.

"Alright, well I'll let y'all eat your lunch. I gotta help Maria with some work on the wall. Joel, you and I can talk about what you can do in this town when Ellie goes to school." Tommy said. Joel nodded and closed the door as Tommy left.

"Great. Time to go back to a stupid classroom where I have to do stupid ass math and bullshit reading assignments. How is this even gonna help me? The school I went to in military camp was total shit." Ellie complained.

"It's all part of a normal life I guess. I think it'll be good for ya. Don't ya miss hangin' out with people your own age?" Joel asked, stirring the mac n cheese on the stove. Ellie pulled out a chair from the small dining table near the kitchen and slumped in it.

"I only had one real friend, Riley, and she's gone forever. So no." Ellie said quietly, almost to the point where Joel couldn't hear her. Joel looked at her with sympathy.

"This is a chance for a fresh start, baby girl." He said, pouring the contents of the pot onto an old plate. He pulled out a dusty spoon and washed it, giving Ellie the mac n cheese.

"This looks like vomit." Ellie commented, earning a laugh from Joel.

"Just try it. I reckon you'll really like it. All kids back then loved mac n cheese."

Ellie, skeptical, put a spoonful of mac n cheese into her mouth. The hot, cheesy flavor burst on her tongue, causing her mouth to water. She chewed it slowly, enjoying every morsel.

"Wait fuck, this is amazing! We never had this shit in military camp!" Ellie exclaimed, consuming the entire plate in a matter of two minutes.

"Kiddo, you're gonna get sick if you keep scarfin' your food so fast." Joel warned, although he couldn't hold back his smile. He ate his mac n cheese slowly, surprised at the fact that he liked it. He never ate this type of food before the outbreak, since it was unhealthy and processed.

" _To hell with all that,_ " Joel thought, finishing off his plate.

"So what do you wanna do today?" Ellie asked as Joel put away the dirty dishes.

"Well, I thought it would be a good idea to explore the town a little more, just to know where everythin' is. Then we can join Tommy for dinner at the dining hall."

Ellie nodded, and the two were about to step outside.

"Ellie, maybe you should—"

"Joel I'm not changing my fucking shirt." Ellie interrupted, knowing exactly what Joel was going to say. He laughed and opened the door. "Alright then kiddo."

The two went on a silent but comfortable walk, absorbing their surroundings and getting used to their new home town. They walked past the dining halls and approached the blue building that was the school Ellie had to attend. Ellie peered inside the building. It didn't look like a typical school with lockers and classrooms, but rather a few large rooms with chairs and classroom supplies scattered on the tables.

"Wow, this is just going to be amazing isn't it!" Ellie said sarcastically, kicking a rock at the wall. Joel rolled his eyes.

"Let's look at other places in this town." Joel said, leading Ellie away from the school. The two walked by other buildings, where they noticed some people selling basic supplies and food.

"I wonder how you exactly buy stuff in this town. It's not like we have credit cards n' cash anymore," Joel wondered out loud. He made a mental note to ask Tommy about that later.

"Ellie! Joel!" A voice called, causing the two to turn around. They noticed Maria running towards them.

"Hey guys, how'd your first night in your new home go?" She asked.

"Pretty damn good. It was comfortable and we were both able to get cleaned up pretty good." Joel replied.

"What are you guys doing here?" She asked.

"Just walking around the town, getting an idea of where everything is," Ellie replied. Maria smiled and nodded.

"Well these buildings here are all stores. The first one is for food and pantry type of stuff that people keep in their homes. The second one is for stuff like soap and toothpaste and all that personal cleanin' stuff. The last one over there is for guns and hunting supplies. The people who run that place are usually the ones who catch the deer and rabbits and other animals that we eat at the dining halls. They're damn good at it too."

"Maybe I can join them. I'm a pretty good shot, you know." Ellie chimed in. Maria looked at Joel, as if looking for a confirmation to see if that statement was true.

"No doubt about it. Ellie is a damn good shot. She saved my ass countless times and caught food for us durin' the winter." Joel smiled and winked at Ellie.

"We'll see about it. You should be focused on goin' to school. You're still just a kid." Maria said, earning an eye roll and a frown from Ellie. Maria didn't notice, but Joel nudged Ellie as a warning to show less attitude.

Maria, Ellie, and Joel walked past the shops and came close to a big grassy area with a small playground on one side. It looked dirty and old, but there were still a few little kids going down the slide. Ellie noticed that they were laughing and playing together.

" _They probably have never seen a real clicker or runner, let alone kill one."_ Ellie thought, noticing their innocence and happy faces.

"Anyways, behind these buildings is a park. Usually the kids hang out there, you can see that. There's a field and a playground and everything. There's also a fence at the other end of the park that leads into the woods. Kids aren't allowed in the woods, or anywhere past that fence." Maria informed.

"Why not?" Ellie asked, her curiosity peaking.

"It's dangerous. Sometimes clickers or runners get close to that area. Also the woods are where the men go huntin' for food. We don't know what's out there, really. For all we know, there are hunters or bandits or dangerous people beyond that fence," Maria said.

Ellie stared off into the distance where the woods were, her interest in the mystery past the fence growing. Joel took notice of this and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't even think about it." Joel warned, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. He probably did.

"Relax old man," Ellie said, rolling her eyes. The three continued on walking past the park.

"This right here is another neighborhood. Most of the houses are already taken. The people here are pretty friendly, maybe you can meet them at dinner today." Maria said, pointing at a group of houses just outside the park. They continued walking on, learning where other random stores and buildings were in the town. Not too long later, they came to a full circle and ended up near the electric room where some of them men ran the generator.

"So, Maria, what does everyone in this town exactly do to earn 'money'?" Joel asked.

"Mostly everything to contribute to making the town run safely and properly. Some people are on fence watch, where they stand at the border and watch out for infected or potentially dangerous people. Some go hunting for food and supplies for everyone in the town to use, and they're damn good at it too. Others run the electric room and keep the power running. Some of the adults are sort of like cops I guess, goin around town and making sure everyone is livin' peacefully and resolving conflicts if necessary. Kids of course go to school for four days a week, so we have a few teachers as well." Maria informed. Joel nodded.

"See Ellie? You're lucky. I had to go to school five days a week from 8 to 3, here you have less days and less hours." Joel said, trying to hide his smile.

Ellie scoffed. "Oh yeah, that'll just make it so much fucking fun, won't it?"

"How do you keep track of who does what? What if someone just steals supplies?" Joel asked, ignoring Ellie's remark.

"We keep track books and records during everyone's jobs. When it's their shift or turn to work, they sign in. When they're done, they sign out. If they complete enough to contribute to the town's proper functioning, they get the supplies they need – in limited quantities of course. People always get what they absolutely need. We never had a problem with that. We don't have ration cards and all that bullshit like in the cities. It's not the best system, but it works well enough to run the town." Maria said.

"What do you and Tommy exactly do?" Ellie asked.

"Tommy runs the guarding of the walls and fences, it's what he's in charge of. I take a few shifts in guard duty and in police duty, you could say. Makin' sure everything is running smoothly."

"Can I be a hunter for food, or take shifts at the wall? I'm a good shot and I can kill people and infected and stuff from far! I think I could be helpful," Ellie said, hoping Maria would let her work.

"We don't let kids under 16 do any kind of work. You're gonna have to wait a year or two."

"I'm almost 16," Ellie lied, knowing that she probably just turned 15.

"C'mon Ellie, don't pester Maria about this. We'll see, okay?" Joel said, leading her away from Maria. "Thanks for the tour, Maria! We'll see you at dinner."

"Starts at 6!" Maria called back, before running off to one of the stores.

"Ellie, don't nag her," Joel scolded.

"Joel, you and I both know that I'd be of much better use working as a hunter or taking shifts at the wall than in some fucking school learning how to find the area of a triangle," Ellie said. Joel knew that she was right, in this world those skills would come in handy. He didn't want to encourage her though, since it would just lead to more arguments.

"There's no denying that you're probably a better shot than half of those damn hunters, Ellie. But you do need to get educated, considerin' you left school to hang out with an old man like me." Joel joked. Ellie snorted.

"Better to hang out with a grumpy old bastard than to go to class," Ellie mumbled. Joel said nothing, and the two walked back to their home.

"Let's just take it easy until dinner, okay?" Joel said, walking to the couch and sitting down. Ellie sat down next to him, saying nothing.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I found another one of them comics you been readin'," Joel said, reaching into his backpack. He pulled out a Savage Starlight Edition 10 comic book.

"Fuck yeah! I've been dying to know what happens and this is the next one! Thanks Joel!" Ellie exclaimed. She took the comic from his hand and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head on his chest for a few seconds. Joel laughed and put his arm around her.

"Why don't you go read it? It'll kill some time before dinner," Joel said. Ellie nodded and let go of Joel. She got up and hesitated for a moment, before leaning in and kissing his forehead quickly.

"You're the best, you old grumpy fuck," Ellie said, earning a smile from Joel. She ran off upstairs to her room, got on her bed, and lied on her stomach. She opened the comic and began to read it.

Joel felt another pang of guilt hit him. Ellie trusted him completely, and he was keeping a huge secret from her. He knew he had to tell her sometime, but Joel didn't know when to say something. Ellie was just starting to become her old self again, after a traumatizing winter. She was becoming more open to him again, even to the point where she felt comfortable in his embrace.

Joel heard a knock on the door, so he quietly stood up and peered through the peephole. It was a woman, who looked like she was about ten years younger than Joel.

He opened the door and the woman smiled at him. She had medium length blonde hair, was fairly tall with long legs and piercing blue eyes, and was wearing a blue sundress.

"Hi, I'm Betty. I live in house 3 over there," She said, pointing to the house across the street. She had a strong southern accent, a lot stronger than Joel's Texan one.

"Joel," Joel said, reaching out his hand. The woman beamed and shook it.

"Tommy n' Maria told me that y'all just moved in. Just wanted to say hi." Betty said, running her eyes up and down Joel. Ellie, who had heard the door knock, was quietly watching the two of them converse. She noticed "Betty" checking him out, which caused her to roll her eyes.

"Uh, that's very nice of ya. I've been meanin' to get to know the neighbors." Joel said awkwardly. Betty laughed out loud cheerfully.

"Well, I live with my son Mark. We moved here about five years ago. I heard you had a little girl livin' with ya?"

"I do. Ellie!" Joel called, knowing exactly where Ellie was and the fact that she was spying on them. Ellie stood up quickly and came downstairs. Joel didn't notice, but Betty's smile faltered slightly.

"Betty, this is Ellie," Joel introduced. "Ellie, this is Betty. Our neighbor in house 3."

"Uh, nice to meet you." Ellie said, already hating Betty's cheerfulness.

"It's my pleasure! You look like you're bout my son's age. His name is Mark. He also goes to the school. I'd be glad to introduce y'all, he's a nice fella."

"Um, thanks." Ellie replied, not interested in meeting Mark at all.

"Are you from Texas?" Betty asked, noticing Joel's accent. He nodded.

"Born n' raised."

"I'm from Kentucky!" Betty squealed, irritating from Joel and Ellie. "Anyways, I'll see y'all at dinner!" Betty turned around and walked across the street, back to her house. Ellie noticed that Betty didn't ask her about where she came from. Joel closed the door.

"So do you hate her too?" Ellie asked. Joel rolled his eyes.

"Cmon Ellie. She was tryna be friendly," Joel replied.

"Dude, she was totally checking you out. I saw her running her eyes all over you. She probably wants to fu—"

"Ellie!" Joel yelled, his cheeks turning red. Ellie burst out laughing.

"Hey, I'm just stating facts here!" Ellie exclaimed, finding it hard to wipe the smile off of her face.

"Ellie, that's inappropriate."

"Do you think she's pretty?"

"Not my type."

"Why? Too bubbly and perky and annoying?" Ellie asked. Joel laughed.

"Somethin' like that. She's just tryna be nice to us. Don't be rude at dinner."

Ellie ran upstairs and started to read her comic book again. Meanwhile, Joel took stock and count of every item in the house.

"Ten shirts, 7 bottoms. Five cans of chicken noodle soup, two boxes of mac n cheese," Joel said to himself, writing everything down in a notepad he found lying on the floor behind the couch.

After about twenty minutes, Ellie came down the stairs.

"How was that comic?" Joel asked.

"It was good, but there's another fucking cliffhanger!" Ellie said, irritated. Joel chuckled.

"Hey, you never know. Maybe we'll find the next one. Let's go to dinner now. I reckon it's about 6 now."

Ellie and Joel walked to the dining hall, where there was a large group of people waiting in a line to be served. It reminded Joel of the school cafeteria from back in his school days. Ellie leaned over and tried to see what was being served. It looked like some kind of meat with rice and vegetables.

The line moved along fairly quickly, and soon the two were served with their food. Joel looked around and saw an empty table, where he sat down with Ellie. There was no sign of Tommy or Maria; they were probably running late.

Ellie noticed Betty enter the dining hall. She quickly turned around, pretending not to notice her and avoid eye contact. She looked around the dining hall and saw a group of teenagers sitting at a table together. They were all snickering and crowded around a tall kid with a purple shirt. It looked like he was showing them some kind of photo.

"Great. Looks like those are the shitbags I'm gonna have to go to school with tomorrow." Ellie commented, pointing at the kids sitting at the table. Joel turned his head and looked, noticing the tight-knit group of teenagers.

"Hey, you never know. Those could end up bein' your new best friends at school," Joel replied.

"Please. These exact types of kids went to the military camp that I used to go to. They always would be hunched up and laugh at everyone else. They're so stupid and pathetic. They think they're hot shit but I bet none of them have ever killed anyone. They'd probably piss their pants if they even saw a clicker," Ellie ranted.

"Just be nice, and just be yourself." Joel advised, though he knew that this advice almost never worked with teenagers. They could be quite cruel and unaccepting of anyone who wasn't in their "clique".

"Joel!" A female voice called. Ellie and Joel spun around, and it was to Ellie's dismay that Betty noticed the two eating alone. She walked over with her plate of food and sat down next to Joel, leaning in close.

"I'm so glad you could make it!" Betty exclaimed, running a hand through her blonde hair. Ellie scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Joel smiled and mumbled something, but Ellie couldn't hear. She silently poked at the meat with her fork, eventually shoving a large piece of it into her mouth. She looked up and noticed the group of teenagers all looking at her with quiet snickers and laughed. She groaned and rolled her eyes. The guy in the purple shirt, who appeared to be their ringleader, irritated Ellie the most. He was looking at her in an almost teasing way, as if he was already planning to make her life hell without even knowing her first.

Ellie ignored the teenagers and continued eating her meat, which tasted like pork. She quickly ate her rice and vegetables, not particularly enjoying the latter. In about five minutes, she was done. She looked at Joel's plate, which was only halfway finished. Betty and Joel were conversing about the community events that took place on weekends, but Joel didn't seem particularly interested. Betty, on the other hand, laughed at everything Joel said and touched his arm a lot. Ellie internally laughed. She knew Joel was somewhat uncomfortable and annoyed, but that he didn't want to be rude. Betty didn't say a word to Ellie, until:

"Allie, I almost forgot! My son Mark is at that table over there with some of the other kids from the school. He's the one in the purple shirt there. Why don't you go over there?" Betty asked, as if she wanted Ellie to leave so that she could be alone with Joel.

"It's _Ellie_ ," She replied, annoyed. _"Of course her son is the douchebag in the purple shirt,"_ Ellie thought. She now had to speak to him because Betty placed her in that awkward situation.

"Go on, I think he'd really like ya. He's a nice fella, he can introduce you to everyone in the school," Betty pushed, irritating Ellie even further.

"Actually, I'm quite tired. Joel, I think I'm gonna go back to the house. Can I have the key?" Ellie asked, eyeing Joel. He knew that she felt uncomfortable and awkward, and honestly he wanted to leave too. He was about to get up himself when Milly came over.

"How's the pork?" She asked, smiling at Joel and Betty. Milly looked at Ellie and immediately frowned upon reading the message written on her shirt.

"Goodness, girl. What did I tell you about profanity? It's improper and I don't like it one bit! You shouldn't wear such clothes. I'll arrange for you to get some proper dresses and outfits," Milly complained. Ellie internally groaned. They were living in a post-apocalyptic world with deadly clickers, bloaters, runners, hunters, bandits, and cannibals, yet Milly was bothered by a cuss word.

" _I'd like to see her outside these walls just for one day,_ " Ellie thought to herself.

"The pork was great, Milly!" Ellie said, ignoring her previous comment. She stood up and held out her hand, expecting Joel to give her the house key.

"No need for that. I'm quite drained too," Joel lied. He stood up. "Thanks for telling me about the events, Betty. Ellie and I will come to the one next week. Good night." The two stood up and started walking outside the dining hall. Ellie turned around and saw Betty giving Ellie a somewhat angry look. To piss her off further, Ellie wrapped her arms around Joel as they walked out. Joel instantly put his arm around her, which Ellie knew annoyed Betty. She laughed to herself and let go of Joel.

"I'm sorry you didn't get to finish your dinner. You should've taken the plate with you," Ellie said, feeling guilty that he didn't get to finish his meal. "I can go get you a plate now, if you want."

"No, that's quite alright. I'm full enough. If I get hungry I'll eat one of them snacks I found in the house. Plus I didn't feel like chattin' with Betty about the community barbecues."

"She seemed pissed you know. When I asked to go home and you wanted to come with. I think she wants me out of the way or something so that she can get to you. Like she asked me to talk to her douchebag son at the other table. I'm pretty sure she hates me, it's actually sort of funny."

"Ellie, you're just imaginin' things. She doesn't hate you. I reckon those comics probably increased your imagination or somethin'."

"Hmmpfh, you'll see soon enough that I'm right." Ellie said as Joel opened the door to their house. Without another word, Ellie ran up the stairs.

"Dibs on the shower!" She called, quickly shutting the bathroom door. Joel went up the stairs and found the alarm clock that Tommy was talking about. He plugged it in and it showed the correct time. He fiddled with the clock for a bit until he figured out how to set an alarm for 8:00 am.

" _Oh, that's not gonna make her happy,"_ Joel thought to himself, laughing. He could already see the events of tomorrow morning. The alarm would go off, and Ellie would wake up extremely irritated and start cursing or trying to break the clock so that it would shut up. Then Joel would have to force her to get ready and make her breakfast, which she'd eat and then walk to school unhappily.

Shortly after fixing the alarm, Ellie came out of the shower. This time she was wearing an oversized pink shirt and a pair of green shorts about 5 sizes too big.

"Ellie, I set up the alarm clock. It'll start beeping at 8 am so that you can wake up to go to school," Joel informed, pointing to the device sitting on the nightstand. Ellie rolled her eyes and dried her hair as Joel entered the shower.

After he came out, the clock read 8:13 pm, which was rather too early to go to bed. Joel and Ellie spent the evening hanging out in the living room together. Ellie reread some of her comics while Joel used some of the tools he found to upgrade his guns and weapons.

"So what are you gonna do while I'm stuck in hell for four whole hours?" Ellie asked.

"Probably go see Tommy and ask about what I can do to help out in town."

"How about we switch? You go to school and _I_ get a job?"

"How bout no?" Joel replied, smiling at Ellie in a teasing manner. He put down his weapons and carefully packed most of them, leaving out his revolver and his hunting rifle.

"Gotta keep something within our reach at all times," Joel explained. Ellie nodded.

The evening went by surprisingly quickly, and soon it was close to midnight. Without even giving it a second thought, Ellie and Joel both climbed into the same bed. Ellie knew that even if she went into her own room, she would end up coming back to Joel's bed. Joel knew that eventually they would have to learn to sleep in separate rooms, but for now he was perfectly content with her by his side. In a way, it made him feel safer. There had been many instances where Ellie had woken up and killed infected while he was asleep. Had she not been there, he wouldn't have woken up in time and would probably be dead.

"Good night, Joel." Ellie mumbled, before turning on her side and falling asleep.

"'Night, Ellie."

 **ANNNDD that's the end of chapter 2. I know it was more about Ellie and Joel's new town life, but I purposely made it longer so that I could get into some "oh shit" moments in chapter 3. In chapter 3, you guys will get to see what Ellie's first day of school is like and what goes down, along with what job Joel gets. And some other cool stuff will happen too hehe. What do you guys think of Betty? Are you guys starting to ship her with Joel? (Ellie sure isn't!) Don't worry, the setting/beginning stuff is mostly over, so now we get to move on with the plot. Please please please REVIEW! I know it's just the beginning but I promise y'all some good shit is gonna happen in the next few chapters. After all, a totally ordinary and perfect life in Jackson is a little too easy for our favorite duo. Please favorite and follow and review! I'll update faster if you guys review heehee!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I'm back with Chapter 3 of the story! Thank you to those who reviewed!**

 _Beep Beep Beep Beep_

A loud, irritating buzzing sound was coming from right next to Ellie and Joel. Ellie cracked open an eye, feeling sleepiness fall heavily on her eyelids.

 _Beep Beep Beep Beep_

"What the fuck," Ellie mumbled, still groggy. She sat up and looked around for the source of the sound, before realizing it was the clock next to Joel's side of the bed. She leaned over Joel and pressed every button on the damn thing, but it wouldn't shut up.

"Shut the fuck up!" Ellie yelled angrily, picking the alarm clock and banging it against the nightstand. Joel stirred in his sleep.

 _Beep Beep Beep Beep_

"That's fuckin' it," Ellie said, reaching for her revolver. She loaded it and was about to shoot the clock when—

"Ellie, don't!" Joel quickly sat up and took away Ellie's gun. He looked at the clock and pushed the white button with the word "alarm" written above it. Ellie angrily glared at the alarm clock, and then at Joel.

"Is this the stupid alarm clock you were talking about?" Ellie asked, kicking off the covers.

Joel was expecting an angry Ellie in the morning. Though the alarm was extremely irritating and he definitely did not feel like leaving the warm bed, he couldn't help but stifle his laughter. He bit the inside of his cheek to refrain from smiling.

"Yes it is, it's time for you to get ready for school," Joel replied, trying not to laugh at Ellie's expression.

"And that piece of shit is gonna go off like that every morning?" Ellie cried out, leaning her head against the headboard of the bed.

"Afraid so."

Ellie laid back down in the bed, pulling the covers over her.

"Five more minutes," She mumbled sleepily. Joel couldn't help but laugh.

"No, baby girl. You're gonna be late. Reckon it's important to be on time for your first day. C'mon, get up." Joel said, nudging her gently. Ellie groaned and got out of bed.

"I fucking hate school."

"You haven't even gone there yet," Joel said.

"Bite me." Ellie spat, walking into the bathroom. She closed the door and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She had scars and cuts on her face and bags under her eyes from months of lack of sleep. Ellie turned the knob on the sink and splashed water on her face in an attempt to feel more awake, which didn't help at all. She pulled out her toothbrush and toothpaste and began to brush her teeth. When she was done, she came out of the bathroom and looked for her pile of clothes. Joel was sitting on the edge of her bed, watching her.

Ellie pulled out the "My parents told me I can become anything, so I became an asshole" T-shirt, which Joel washed for her the night before. She grabbed a pair of shorts and was about to change when—

"Ellie, I love that shirt n' all, but that's not appropriate for school. Wear this instead," Joel said, taking the graphic T-shirt from Ellie and giving her a light green faded T-shirt instead. It looked a little big for her, but it would work.

"Ugh, fine." Ellie said, too tired to argue. She went inside her room and changed into her school clothes while Joel brushed his teeth. The two walked downstairs together, and the time was about 8:30.

"Baby, what do you want for breakfast?" Joel asked, looking through the cupboards.

"I don't fucking care." Ellie responded, annoyed. She sat at the dining table and put her head between her arms. She closed her eyes and felt sleepiness take over her once again.

"Here, I fixed up some bread n' Nutella. I think—" Joel noticed Ellie sleeping at the table.

"Ellie!" Joel exclaimed loudly, causing her to jolt awake.

"You fell asleep."

"Well it's pretty fucking early."

"I made you breakfast." Joel said, handing her a plate. There were two pieces of bread with a strange brown sauce smothered generously on top.

"What's the brown stuff?" Ellie asked, making a face. Joel laughed.

"It's called Nutella. It's a chocolate sauce. I reckon kids love eatin' it with just about anything. Try it," Joel said. Ellie raised an eyebrow and lifted a piece of bread into her mouth. An explosion of flavor hit her tongue, and her mouth began to water. The Nutella was creamy and soft, blending in with the softness of the bread perfectly.

"This is fucking amazing," Ellie commented, taking another huge bite of the bread and Nutella. Joel handed her a glass of water and set down his own plate of Nutella and bread.

"I'm gonna eat this for breakfast every damn day now."

Joel chuckled. "I reckon the Nutella isn't very good for ya. I'm glad you like it though. It's probably expired and I don't want you eatin' big quantities of it if it's gonna hurt your stomach," Joel said, eating his own bread and savoring the flavor.

"So are you gonna walk me there?" Ellie asked, hoping the answer was yes. She didn't want to walk to hell by herself, after all.

"I don't see why not. I have to meet Tommy at the horse stables anyway. Your school is on the way." Joel said, smiling. Ellie smiled, glad that Joel would be there for her. She reached across the table and put her hand over his. She stared at his hand, which was much bigger than hers. It felt rough and calloused, while her hand was small and smooth. Joel affectionately ran his thumb over her knuckle.

"What about when it's over?"

"I'll meet you in front of the school at 1. Then we can head back and eat some lunch," Joel said. Ellie nodded, annoyed at the idea of going to school. She felt better, however, since Joel was being patient and affectionate with her. In military school, soldiers would drag the kids out of their beds and to class if they skipped without a valid excuse.

"Well, I think it's bout time we start headin' out. Class starts in fifteen minutes for ya," Joel said. Ellie let go of his hand and frowned. She chugged the rest of her water and picked up her backpack, which Joel insisted she took with her. Inside was nothing except a pencil and some of Ellie's personal belongings. Ellie wanted to take all of her weapons with her, like she did when they were out in the wild, but Joel explained to her that it was a bad idea. She had her switchblade on her of course, and she secretly had a pistol tucked in her belt. Her shirt was long enough to hide it.

Joel opened the door and locked it behind him. Ellie watched him turn the lock.

"Why can't I have a key?" Ellie asked.

"I'll try to have one made for ya today."

Joel and Ellie silently walked away from their home and to the blue building that was the school.

"You know, this building looks uglier and uglier every time I see it." Ellie commented, scrunching her nose.

Joel smiled. "It's just four hours, baby girl. I'm sure you'll be okay."

Ellie noticed a group of kids standing outside the building. Some of them were very young, probably around the age of six of younger. Others looked like they were in middle school, somewhere between ages 11 and 13. The rest of the kids, however, were the ones that Ellie saw the night before at the dining hall.

The assholes.

The students who were Ellie's age were all in one big group, talking amongst themselves. Ellie recognized Mark, Betty's son, from last night.

"Oh great. It's those dickfaces from the night before." Ellie said. Joel looked at the group of kids standing outside the school. He recognized Betty's son.

"Don't call them that when you actually talk to them," Joel said, half joking.

"Pssh. I could take on all of them."

"I don't doubt that at all. But just try to be nice and open to makin' friends." Joel advised. There was a loud ringing, and Ellie noticed the little kids starting to walk inside the building.

She looked up at Joel. He smiled at her, placing her hand on her cheek. Ellie nuzzled against his hand, closing her eyes for a second. Joel reached down and kissed the top of her head, running his other hand through her hair.

"I'll see you soon, baby girl. Good luck in there." Joel said, gently holding Ellie's face with both hands. He leaned in once more, kissing her forehead. Ellie felt a pang of sadness hit her. It was strange, but this would be the first time that Joel and Ellie would be apart for this long since winter, when she was out fighting David's men. Though it was just four hours, both Ellie and Joel were very used to being near each other all day and all night.

"Ugh. Thanks Joel. Bye," Ellie said, not wanting to leave him. Joel let go of Ellie, and she turned around. The group of teenagers from the night before were all staring at her with smug smiles on their faces.

"Those fucks." Ellie mumbled. She walked towards the entrance of the school, ignoring them all.

She didn't know where at all to go, so she slowly walked behind Mark and his friends, who she assumed were in the same class as her. The building was small and ugly, and it didn't look like a real school at all. The interior was painted an ugly beige color, which was fading. There were only four rooms inside, with kids filling up each of them. Room 1 had little kids who looked no older than six, Room 2 had slightly older kids, and so on. The "dickfaces" were waiting outside of Room 4.

Ellie looked around and tried to find someone to talk to, someone who seemed alone in the class so that they could both be friends with each other. To her dismay, however, there was a group of seven to eight kids all standing in a tight circle, with Ellie being the outsider.

"It looks like Mackenzie is gonna be late today." A girl with long black hair said. She was a part of Mark's group. According to Ellie, she had a bitchy tone to her voice. She was wearing a miniskirt and a tank top that looked about three sizes too small, exposing her belly. Her breasts were practically popping out of her top.

Ellie scoffed. She didn't think that there would be bitchy mean girls or a system of popularity at a school built decades after an apocalypse.

" _They're so fucking pathetic. What are they exactly trying to prove by acting like hot shit?"_ Ellie thought. She observed the rest of the group. Mark was standing next to the girl with long black hair. He wrapped his arm around her and whispered something in their ear. There was no denying that Mark was a good-looking person. He had light brown hair that was slightly wavy, and sparkling blue eyes. He was tall, probably had a few inches on Joel. He was wearing a blue shirt and jeans this time. His clothes looked worn out and old, but it's not like there was a shopping mall nearby.

Mark and the black-haired girl both had their eyes on Ellie, who they noticed was staring at them. Ellie quickly looked away, cursing under her breath. She pretended to fiddle with a string hanging from her backpack.

" _Huh, so it looks like Mark and the black-haired bitch are prom king and queen."_ Ellie thought sarcastically, noticing their superiority over the rest of the group. Ellie had seen a dramatic movie about high school and its social hierarchy, when she snuck out with Riley during one of the classes at military school.

Ellie turned to her left and saw a middle-aged woman walking through the halls. She wore glasses and was holding a book and some papers. She had brown hair but some streaks were visibly white. She opened the door to the "classroom" and let everyone inside. There weren't actual desks, but rather one large table with chairs along the sides. Mackenzie sat in one of the seats, and the students followed. Ellie was about to grab a chair on the opposite side of the table, but Tina grabbed it.

"Hun, that's my seat." She said, sitting down. Mark sat down next to her. He scooted his chair closer to Tina, leaned in, and kissed her. Ellie rolled her eyes and groaned, finding another seat away from Tina and Mark.

"I see we have a new student among us. Tell us your name," Mackenzie said, smiling at Ellie.

"Uh, I'm Ellie." Ellie said, silently hating Mackenzie for putting her on the spot. All of the kids around her looked at her, smiling and laughing among themselves.

" _How is it even possible that I've done literally nothing and I am still being laughed at?"_ Ellie thought to herself angrily.

"Ellie, I was told that you got halfway through level 9 education at your military school." Mackenzie said. Ellie nodded, realizing that the last time she went to school seemed like such a long time ago. Ellie knew that learning how to find the thesis of an article, or finding the volume of a sphere, was close to useless in the current world they were living in. After going through what she and Joel had been through, she couldn't give two shits about school. Joel taught her what was important in the world – how to fight, how to shoot, and how to survive.

"Uh, yeah. Level 9."

"That's good then. This class is on level 10 so you should be right up to speed with us." Mackenzie said. She handed Ellie a few papers and a notebook.

"Thanks," Ellie mumbled. She looked around and noticed the girl with long black hair giggling. She leaned over and whispered something in Mark's ear while looking directly at Ellie.

"Take a fucking picture, it'll last longer," Ellie commented out loud, calling out Mark and his bitch of a girlfriend. The girl squeaked in laughter and quickly tried to hide it. Mark looked at her curiously, not expecting Ellie's outburst.

"Tina, focus. Ellie, watch your language." Mackenzie said to the long-haired girl.

" _Tina, huh?_ " Ellie thought.

Mackenzie started a math lesson about conic sections. Ellie tried her best to stay awake and pay attention, but the equation of a hyperbola could not bore her any more. She laid her arms on the desk and buried her head in them, closing her eyes. Sleepiness was taking over her body, and Ellie did not care that everyone could see. She was about to drift off when she felt something hit her shoulder.

Ellie shot up and noticed a crumpled up piece of paper hit her. She looked around at the students sitting at the table, trying to figure out who threw it. It didn't take long, since Tina was covering her mouth and nearly squealing from refraining from laughter.

Ellie unfolded the paper and saw a phallic drawing on it. She scoffed and was about to make a comment, but she crumpled up the paper again, deciding not to react after remembering what Joel said to her.

" _Okay, who else in this class doesn't seem like an asshole?"_ Ellie thought to herself, looking around the class. Ellie noticed Tina passing notes to some blonde girl sitting next to her. The two were silently giggling.

" _Okay, probably not her,"_ Ellie thought, after seeing how close she seemed to Tina.

"Okay guys, that's enough math for today. We're moving on to science now," Mackenzie announced. The class seemed to sigh in relief, as no one seemed to be paying attention in the math section of the class.

"Today we'll be starting the Chemistry unit. I assume you all can read and understand the periodic table?" Mackenzie asked. Everyone nodded, including Ellie.

"Good, so we'll go over isotopes and radioactivity today…" Mackenzie droned on, writing random chemistry equations and explaining them. Ellie was bored out of her mind, not really paying attention.

" _Seriously, killing a horde of clickers and runners is much more fun than this,"_ Ellie thought, doodling on her paper. Ellie was considering ditching for the rest of the day. There didn't seem to be some sort of defined punishment for that, like there was in her military school.

" _Maybe I can just sneak off during the half hour break."_ Ellie thought, her mind wandering to the mysterious woods outside the park. She knew very well that she could handle herself, and she had her pistol and switchblade on her. Unfortunately, there was no clock in the room, so she couldn't check how many minutes until class was up. It seemed to be going on forever.

After what seemed like forty-five minutes, Mackenzie said, "Alright kids, it's time for the half-hour break. Be sure to come back when you hear the bell ring."

There were multiple sighs of relief and the students began talking amongst each other. Ellie stood up and proceeded to exit the classroom when Tina tapped her on the shoulder.

"So like, you're Ellie right?" She asked. Ellie internally groaned, knowing that Tina was going to give her shit for something.

"Yup, that's me."

"So you just moved here right?" Tina asked. The other students were a few feet away, watching them.

"Yeah, two days ago." Ellie replied.

"Oh, with your dad? I think I've seen him at the dining hall," Tina said.

"Well, he's not really my dad. Well I guess he kinda is, he's more like my guardian." Ellie clarified.

"So you two aren't related?" Tina pressed.

"No, but Tommy is his brother." Ellie said, hoping that having ties with one of the leaders of the town would somehow get Tina off of her back.

"How'd you end up with someone you're not related to? Don't you have a family?"

"Well, I guess we're not that lucky. My mom died when I was a baby and I don't know my dad. I used to go to military school in Boston. Joel and I… we've been through hell together." Ellie explained, hoping that Tina would shut up so that she could leave.

"Oh, I see." Tina said, turning around and running to Mark and her friends. Ellie sighed, knowing that she was going to be a loner at the school. There was not one person who wasn't a part of the little gang that Tina was running. She looked back at them, and noticed Mark staring at her curiously.

" _What the fuck does he want?_ " Ellie thought to herself. She stepped outside of the school building and walked to the park by herself. She saw a few kids playing on the playground, figuring that all of them were on the half hour break. Her eyes wandered over to the fence that blocked the way to the woods. It was only about six feet high, and Ellie knew that she could easily climb over.

"Fuck it." Ellie said, walking over to the fence. Making sure she had the pistol and personal belongings with her, she quickly looked around and made sure no one was watching. The kids on the playground didn't notice her, and there were no adults nearby. She hopped over the fence, wiggling her legs so that she didn't fall. She landed on the other side, quickly getting up and scanning for any signs of infected.

"Coast looks clear." She said to herself, proceeding to walk forward. The scenery was rather beautiful, and it reminded her of the first time she entered the woods with Joel.

Ellie explored the area, marking every few trees so that she knew how to get back. Joel would probably kill her for sneaking off into banned territory and skipping school.

She heard cracking leaves and twigs ahead of her and froze. Ellie ducked behind the tree, listening for more sounds. She heard that familiar clicking sound.

"Fuck!" Ellie whispered, taking out her switchblade from her pocket. She scanned the area in front of her, eventually finding one alone clicker wobbling in the woods. Ellie slowly approached it, still crouched. Since it was blind, it didn't notice her until a few seconds before she attacked it.

The clicker screeched loudly, attempting to bite Ellie in the neck. She quickly drew her switchblade into the clicker's head, killing it instantly. It fell on the ground, splattering blood everywhere. Something shiny fell on the ground, and Ellie picked it up. It was a Firefly pendant, with the name "Joseph Strone" written on the back. She pocketed the pendant and continued walking.

"Search the area, see if there's any food or other shit," A voice called out from the distance. Ellie quickly ducked down and hid behind a tree. She peaked outside from behind the tree, trying to see who was there. She could hear more twigs snapping.

"Nothin' here!" Another voice called out, this time a lot closer to Ellie. She slowly looked in front of the tree, seeing a man looking for supplies on the ground just nearby. He didn't look familiar at all. The man was tall and had brown hair, which was cut short and neatly. He looked fairly young, maybe in his mid to late thirties. He was clean shaven and handsome, no doubt.

" _Shit, I don't think those are the food hunters from town,"_ Ellie thought. The footsteps were getting closer and closer. Ellie quickly looked around, realizing that she couldn't run away without being heard. An empty glass soda bottle was lying on the ground just a few feet away. Ellie quickly reached for it, grasping it in her hand. She chugged the bottle as far as she could, hearing a distant crash.

"What was that?" One of the voices yelled. She could hear the footsteps drawing further and further away from her. The man she could visibly see walked in the direction of the broken glass.

Ellie sighed in relief and ran back, following the marks she put on the trees. Once she got to the fence, she quickly threw her backpack over it and climbed up. Jumping down to the side with the playground, she grabbed her backpack off the floor and ran.

" _I wonder what time it is,_ " Ellie thought, wondering if school was over yet. She walked to the blue building, only to see people just coming out.

"Looks like I'm right on time." Ellie said to herself, running to the crowd of kids. It felt like she was only gone for a couple of minutes, but two and a half hours had passed since she left school. She looked around for Joel, deciding not to tell him about her little "adventure" that took place instead of her being in class. She looked around the crowd until she saw him standing about twenty feet away from the entrance.

"Joel!" Ellie exclaimed. She ran over to him and jumped in his arms, not caring what anyone else thought. Joel wrapped her arms around her and swung her around before setting her down.

"Hey kiddo," Joel said, smiling at her.

"Let's get out of here," Ellie said, taking Joel's hand and dragging him away. He didn't want Joel to see Mackenzie, since she probably noticed Ellie's absence after the break anyway.

"How was your first day?" Joel asked, looking down at her.

"Um, pretty fucking boring. The kids are all in this tight circle and there's this one snobby bitch named Tina who threw paper at me. I could've reacted but I decided to stay calm and just let it go. The teacher is nice I guess, but she's boring as fuck." Ellie explained. Joel pulled out his house key and opened the door, leading them inside.

"Uh huh. So what did you learn?" Joel asked.

"Shit like conic sections in math and some chemistry."

"And what about English and History? Tommy told me that y'all learn that as well."

"Um, I don't remember really. I guess I was bored as fuck and didn't pay attention." Ellie lied, hoping Joel didn't know she skipped class to go exploring in the forbidden woods.

"I see. And did you get in a fight?" Joel asked. This took Ellie by surprise.

"What? No, why would you ask that?"

"I just didn't expect you to come home with blood all over your shirt."

" _Fuck."_ Ellie thought. She must've gotten blood splattered on her shirt when she killed the clicker in the woods.

"Uh…"

"Spill, Ellie."

"Fine. I got bored as hell during the first half of classes so during the half hour break I did a little exploring," Ellie said, looking down at her feet. She knew she was in trouble.

"Explorin' where?" Joel pressed.

"You know, just outside."

"Ellie," Joel warned, giving her a look. Ellie knew that she was busted at that point. There was no purpose in lying to him.

"Fine, I climbed over the fucking fence in the park and looked around in the woods. I killed a clicker." Ellie confessed. Joel sighed.

"God dammit, Ellie. You can't just go off into the woods randomly like that and skip classes. I know you really hate it but you can't go off breakin' the rules in this town." Joel lectured.

"Are you mad at me?" Ellie asked, looking up into his eyes. Joel sighed. How could he ever get mad at Ellie? She saved his life countless times, and he was holding a big secret from her. He had no right to lecture her or get angry with her. Their lives changed drastically fast; one minute they were fighting for their lives and the next it all changed to ordinary lifestyles. It was quick and strange, and Joel knew that the adjustment couldn't be easy.

"No, baby girl." Joel said quietly, sitting on the couch. Ellie walked to the couch and sat next to him, leaning on his shoulder. "I just want you to be safe."

"Oh um, while I was in the woods I heard some men in the distance. I think they were looking for food or supplies or something and I don't think they were Tommy's guys. I saw one of them, he was tall with short brown hair and all clean shaven. I threw a glass bottle in the distance to lead them further away from the town, but they're probably still nearby." Ellie said, turning her head up so that she could look at Joel.

"You heard men in the woods?" Joel asked, paranoid that these men were Fireflies.

"Yeah, you should probably tell Tommy." Ellie turned her head and leaned on his shoulder again.

"I'll get tell him at lunch, which we should probably get to now. I reckon you're hungry from all your _exploring_ ," Joel said, leaning his cheek on Ellie's head.

"…I'm sorry, Joel." Ellie said, feeling guilty about breaking his rules. He worked so hard to keep them safe and alive, and she didn't want to jeopardize that at all.

"Don't worry about it, kiddo. Just…try to follow the rules and stay in school, okay?"

"I'll do my best." Ellie said. Joel chuckled, knowing for a fact that she wasn't going to sit by the sidelines. He knew that she was going to try to sneak off somewhere again, or that she would end up getting in some sort of trouble.

"Cmon, Ellie. Let's go get some lunch." Joel said, standing up. Ellie followed behind him as he locked the door to the house.

"So, what did you do while I was out?" Ellie asked, curious about his day.

"I visited Tommy at the stables and we discussed what work I can do in the town. He gave me a couple options, like takin' shifts guarding the wall or joining the food hunters in the woods."

"So what are you gonna do?" Ellie asked.

"Takin' shifts at the wall would mean that I would have to be out durin' the middle of the night, so I don't think I'll do that. I reckon I'd be better at huntin' for food and supplies in the woods, so I'll be doing that." Joel explained as they walked to the dining hall.

"Sounds pretty cool. Do you have to work long hours?" Ellie asked.

"It's from about 9 am to afternoon, 'round 3:30 or 4 I suppose. I'll be home a few hours after you get back home from school. It's only for four days a week though, so I'll just go while you're at school so that we don't stay apart for too long." Joel said, looking down at Ellie and smiling.

Joel and Ellie entered the dining hall again. It was decently crowded, and Ellie scanned the room for people she knew. She noticed Mackenzie, her teacher, just ahead of her in the food line.

"Oh fuck." She mumbled, looking down and away from Mackenzie. The last thing she wanted was for Mackenzie to notice her.

"What's wrong?" Joel asked, noticing Ellie's behavior. He looked around curiously, not noticing anything strange.

"Erm, nothing."

"Ellie?" A feminine voice near her asked. It, of course, was Mackenzie.

"Um, hi." Ellie said quietly, hoping she would just walk away. Joel looked at the two in confusion, not knowing how they knew each other.

"You must be Ellie's father, right?" Mackenzie asked, looking at Joel.

"Yes I am. Well, I reckon I'm more like her guardian." Joel responded. Ellie felt her heart swell for a moment, when Joel automatically responded with a "yes" when asked if he was her father. Though he corrected himself, it showed Ellie that she was a daughter in his eyes. A year ago, she was nothing but cargo that he had to transfer to the Fireflies.

"I'm Ellie's teacher, Mackenzie. Can I have a word with you?" She asked, pulling Joel away from the crowd. Ellie huffed and rolled her eyes.

"God fucking dammit," Ellie mumbled, knowing that Mackenzie was going to complain about her. She wasn't too worried about the "parent teacher conference" that Joel and Mackenzie were having about her, however, since she and Joel both knew there were more important things to worry about. Ellie grabbed a plate and filled it with the food they were serving, which was pork stew with salad and fruit.

Ellie found an empty table and sat down, eating her food quickly in hunger. She wasn't afraid of Joel's reaction to whatever Mackenzie was telling her, since she told him the truth first.

"Hey," A voice said to her from behind. Ellie spun around and saw Mark standing behind her.

"Uh, hey." Ellie said, surprised and confused. _"What the fuck does he want?"_

"Can I sit?" He asked, gesturing to the empty seat next to her.

"Sure." Ellie had no idea why Mark was talking to her, or if this was some big prank set up by Tina.

"So you're Ellie, the new girl. I think Tina mentioned that you moved here just two days ago?" Mark said. He sounded genuinely friendly, but Ellie had her walls up.

"Yeah, I actually live across the street from you. I think your mom came by and introduced herself to us."

"Oh yeah, I also saw you at dinner the other night. How come you didn't say hi?" He asked.

"How come you didn't?" Ellie retorted. Mark laughed.

"Good point. I guess I was too distracted with something I was showing my friends."

"Mhmm," Ellie said, uninterested.

"Why'd you ditch the rest of class after the break?" Mark asked, leaning in just slightly closer to Ellie.

"It's boring as fuck and pretty annoying to see you all whisper shit about me. And have your girlfriend throw papers with penis drawings at me isn't exactly pleasant." Ellie snapped. "Plus, I don't see the point of being in school, since survival skills and working for the town are much more important."

Mark was surprised at Ellie's outburst, but he couldn't help but agree.

"True, Mackenzie is boring as fuck. In my opinion, training should be prioritized. We only have it on weekends." Mark said.

"Pssh, yeah."

"And umm, I'm sorry about Tina. She can honestly be a drama queen sometimes, but she is a good person." Mark said. Ellie looked him in the eye, trying to see if his apology was genuine or not.

"Right." Ellie responded, not really knowing what to say.

Joel was standing on the other side of the dining hall with Mackenzie. She was telling Joel about Ellie's lack of seriousness in her classroom, and that her behavior had to change because swearing was inappropriate. Joel didn't think it was a big deal, honestly, and he noticed that a lot of people in Jackson got offended over the tiniest things.

Getting bored of Mackenzie's rant, he looked around the dining room for Ellie. He noticed her sitting down with a _boy_ who was a little too close for his comfort.

"I'm sorry, Mackenzie, about Ellie's behavior. I'll talk to her about it." Joel said, interrupting her. He quickly walked away from Mackenzie and headed straight towards Ellie and the boy, who he realized was Betty's son. He approached the table and sat next to Ellie's other side, frowning at Mark.

"Uh, hi sir. I was just leaving." Mark said, standing up with his plate and heading off in the other direction. He seemed intimidated by Joel's angry-looking face.

"Pff, what's his deal?" Ellie wondered out loud, picking at the fruit on her plate.

"Is that Betty's son?" Joel asked.

"Yup, that's Mark. He's dating the slutty bitch in my class, Tina. I don't know why he was talking to me. Probably to tell something to his stupid friend group later."

"Did he say somethin' rude?" Joel asked.

"No, he was being surprisingly nice," Ellie said, wondering what Mark's intentions really were.

Tommy had just entered the dining hall with Maria. Grabbing plates full of food, the two scanned the area to see where to sit. Noticing Joel and Ellie, they sat at their table.

"Hey Ellie, how was your first day?" Tommy asked. Joel raised an eyebrow at Ellie.

"Well, the first half of it was boring as fuck, and my classmates sort of suck."

"…And the second half?" Tommy asked.

"You wanna tell him, or should I?" Joel asked. Ellie huffed.

"I was absent for that." Ellie said somewhat shyly. Tommy and Maria gave Joel a curious look.

"And why is that?" Maria asked.

"I ditched class to climb over the fence in the park and explore the woods," Ellie confessed, realizing there was no point lying to them.

"Ellie!" Maria cried out.

"Girl, this is the second time you've snuck out of this town. Do you realize you could've gotten hurt?" Tommy said, frowning at Ellie.

"Pssh, I killed off a clicker in the woods. I can take care of myself. I also saw some random men pretty close to the gate, and they didn't look like they were from this town. I drew them away by throwing a glass bottle in the opposite direction, but I think they're still nearby." Ellie explained, hoping that Tommy and Maria would forget about her ditching class and focus on the strange men near their town.

"Men in the woods? I didn't send anyone out today," Maria said, confused.

" _At least they forgot about me ditching,_ " Ellie thought to herself, smiling slightly.

"Tommy, maybe we should inspect the area and make sure that no trouble will start." Joel suggested.

"Good idea, hopefully they're not bandits. Ellie, did you see what any of them looked like?"

"I only physically saw one of them. He was tall and had brown hair. Um, clean shaven face and maybe in his late thirties. Definitely younger than Joel," Ellie joked. Joel rolled his eyes, and Tommy laughed.

"This isn't an excuse for you sneaking off into banned territory, but thanks for letting us know." Maria said, smiling lightly. Ellie nodded.

Tommy, Maria, and Joel all talked amongst themselves while eating their lunches. Ellie sat quietly, half listening to their conversation. She scanned the room, noticing Mark on the other side of the dining hall. He was standing with two other guys that Ellie recognized from her class. He suddenly turned around, noticing Ellie staring at him. Ellie quickly turned back around and pretended to finish her lunch.

"Honey, are you done?" Joel asked, placing a gentle hand on her back. Ellie quickly nodded.

"I have to stay with Tommy for some work stuff, I'll be back in an hour. I had a house key made for ya, so you can go home and relax. Maybe read them comics." Joel said, pulling out a metal key. Ellie smiled and took it.

"Thanks Joel. See you in a bit." Ellie stood up and was about to leave when Joel grabbed her hand.

"Ellie, no sneakin' off. I want you to go home. Got it?" Joel asked, giving Ellie a serious look.

"I promise I'll go straight up. I really could use a nap right now considering school started so fucking early." Ellie responded, grinning. Joel smiled and let go of her hand. Ellie walked to the exit of the dining hall. She was about to open the door when—

"Bye Ellie!" A voice called. She turned around and saw Mark looking at her. He smiled and waved. Ellie, confused, smiled lightly and waved back.

"Bye."

 **AAAND that's a wrap for chapter 3! This one was harder to write, because I had a lot of different angles of how to make this chapter go. This definitely was the longest chapter I've written for the story so far! What'd you guys think? Do you guys think that man in the woods could be Ellie's father? I think we can all expect that Ellie is gonna do something that she isn't supposed to. Also, what do you guys think of Mark? He seems pretty nice so far, but we can never truly know one's intentions just from the start, huh? Let me know all of your thoughts by dropping a review! Chapter 4 is soon to come, and all I can say is that it will be suspenseful, meaning that something is probably gonna go wrong ;) Anyways, PLEAASE review! Let me know what you think of Mark and what you think of the story so far! Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I'm back with Chapter 4 of this story! Thank you to those who reviewed/favorited/followed, all feedback is greatly appreciated!**

" _What's up with that Mark kid?"_ Ellie thought to herself as she left the dining hall. She was suspicious of him, since he was joined up with the other members of her class. Ellie remembered how David was initially friendly to her, and didn't want to get involved with Mark at all until she was one hundred percent sure that he was being legitimate with his words. She looked behind her one last time, noticing Mark speaking with one of his friends. Letting it go, Ellie closed the door and began walking towards her home.

On the way home, Ellie passed by the ugly blue building, internally groaning that she had to return to it early in the morning tomorrow. She looked around, making sure no one was standing near her or watching her. Then, she extended her arm and gave a big fat middle finger towards the school building.

"Fuck you," She said. She turned around and walked away from the school. Ellie never took the time to notice the scenery that surrounded the city of Jackson. It was actually quite beautiful, with tall green trees surrounding the area.

There were a few garden beds set up as well, with multicolored flowers growing on them. This looked odd to Ellie, since she was so used to seeing a bland and bleak world. Ellie reached down and plucked out some of the flowers growing in the garden beds. She had a handful of flowers now, all in shades of pink, red, yellow, and even a blue one.

" _This should add some nice decoration to our house,"_ Ellie thought to herself, remembering that there was an old vase sitting in the kitchen somewhere. Ellie approached her neighborhood and walked towards house 5. She pulled out her house key and stuck it in the lock. Twisting it, she opened the door to her house and walked in.

"Where is that vase?" Ellie wondered out loud, closing the door behind her and entering the kitchen. She looked on the counters and on the table, but it wasn't visible anywhere. Ellie opened the cupboards and found the old vase sitting inside.

" _Joel must've put it here,"_ Ellie thought, pulling it out. She put some water in it and stuck the flowers in it. It was a strange contrast, since the flowers were so bright and colorful, while everything else was dull and old looking.

Ellie left the vase in the middle of the kitchen table, hoping that Joel would like it. She headed upstairs and entered her room, which she realized she never actually slept in for a full night. Scattered on her bed were her comic books, her backpack, and a few pairs of clothes. She picked up her Savage Starlight comic, which she didn't finish, and began to read it.

About an hour later, Joel began to head home. He felt somewhat tired, and wanted nothing more than a nice afternoon nap before dinner. He approached the front door of the house and came in. Upon entering, he noticed a bright array of colors sitting on the dining table.

" _Ellie must've picked those flowers,"_ Joel thought, smiling. They were no doubt beautiful, and Joel liked the home decoration. It made everything look less depressing and dull.

"Ellie?" He called out, expecting an answer. Silence.

"Ellie?!" Joel called again, quickly scanning the downstairs area. "God dammit did she sneak out again?" He asked out loud to himself, both angry and upset. When he didn't find Ellie, he ran up the stairs and opened the door to her room. There she was, sound asleep in her own bed.

"Thank god," Joel whispered to himself. His heart began to slow down, and he couldn't help but smile in relief. Joel came into Ellie's room and kneeled down, getting a closer look at Ellie. He smiled at her lightly and ran a hand through her hair, which was now messy. Joel caressed her cheek fondly, rubbing his thumb gently over her scar. He got up and exited Ellie's room, closing the door.

"The kid ain't the only one who needs a nap," Joel said to himself, chuckling. He entered his bedroom and changed into some of his sleepwear. He climbed into the covers and closed his eyes, feeling a sense of sleepiness take over. Joel's mind started to wander, and he began to think about his new job. The idea of living such a normal life was strange to him, and he felt that getting too comfortable could be dangerous. His thoughts eventually got him to drift to sleep.

Joel wasn't sure how long he was asleep, but he was quickly woken up by a loud crash. He jumped on his feet, grabbing the El Diablo that was sitting on his nightstand.

"Ellie?" Joel called out, running out from his room. He opened the door to her room quickly, only to find her crouched on the floor, frantically picking up a bookshelf. There were a few random books and papers scattered on the floor. Ellie was trying to lift the bookshelf, but it looked like it was about to crush her.

"Christ, what did you do?" Joel asked. He put down his gun and helped her left the bookshelf up. Ellie stood up and sighed in relief.

"Shit, sorry Joel. I was trying to move this thing because I saw something peaking out from behind. I didn't mean to wake you." Ellie said, peering at the spot that was originally behind her bookshelf. There seemed to be some sort of small door hidden behind it.

"Woah, what's this?" Ellie asked out loud in amazement. She bent down and pulled at the handle.

"Ellie, be careful," Joel warned, watching her closely. The door opened, and it seemed to be just big enough for Joel to crawl through. Ellie reached in with her arm and felt something soft placed right near the entrance. She grabbed it and pulled it out, not expecting it to be heavy.

"It's some sort of big bag," Ellie commented. The bag was about the size of a trash bag, but it was made of a soft felt material. Ellie touched the bag, feeling it to predict what could be inside. Joel kneeled down and inspected it, before finding the zipper.

"Let's see what god damn stuff people hid in here," He said, pulling the zipper. Ellie gasped at the contents. It was a large bag filled with a variety of things. Joel shifted through it, trying to see the contents of the bag. There were several candy bars, two handguns, a photograph, magazines, a few DVD boxes, clothes, more packaged food, and a smaller box inside.

"Wow, we really hit the jackpot!" Ellie exclaimed. Joel lifted the bag upside down and dumped out everything on the floor so that the two could see everything clearly.

Joel chucked. "I reckon this is some sort of survival bag or somethin'."

"Joel, what's a…Snickers?" Ellie asked, picking up one of the candy bars and inspecting it.

"It was an extremely popular candy bar back then. One of Sarah's favorites. It's chocolate with some peanuts and caramel and nougat inside. Why don't you try it?"

"What the hell is nougat?" Ellie asked, while opening the wrapper. It revealed a medium brown colored chocolate bar. Ellie smelled it, and the scent of the chocolate made her mouth water. Joel laughed at her reaction.

"Just try it." He said, nudging her. Ellie took a small bite and chewed carefully, before her face lit up completely.

"This is fucking amazing! Best candy I've ever had!" Ellie cried out, taking another huge bite.

"Woah, kiddo. You'll get sick if you eat that much that fast." Joel warned, though he was smiling. He took away the candy bar from Ellie, before inspecting it and taking a bite himself.

"It's super stale, but it's still got the flavor."

"Hey!" Ellie complained. Joel chewed the candy bar, deciding whether or not it was enjoyable. Snickers was one of his favorites when he was a kid as well.

"Thanks for taking my candy, asshole." Ellie said, but she couldn't stop herself from smiling. Ellie looked around the stash and noticed six more Snickers bars lying on the floor, along with another three called Milky Way and another eight called M&Ms.

"I bet this person was a total fatass." Ellie commented, looking at the large amount of candy bars. "I can't wait to try all of these!"

Joel looked around in the stash as well, before noticing the small box that was hidden under the larger pile of items. He pulled it out and inspected it. It was a dark green box, no bigger than a deck of cards. There was dust on it, but it was still intact. Curious, Joel opened the box, which revealed a small key.

"Huh, I wonder where this leads." Joel wondered out loud, showing Ellie the key.

"Maybe there's a hidden treasure chest or something," Ellie teased. Joel smiled and closed the box.

"Let's keep this safely." He said. He grabbed the extra pairs of clothes in the pile and stood up, leaving the room so that he could pack them. Ellie looked at the DVD boxes, noticing that they were kids movies.

"Joel? Have you seen these movies?" Ellie called out. Joel walked back in and inspected the DVDs.

" _The Little Mermaid_ , _Tarzan, The Parent Trap_ , _The Shining_ ," Joel read out loud. He couldn't help but smile. Those were all classic movies that everyone loved before the outbreak. "I've actually seen them all. They're all winners."

"Do you think we could get them to work?" Ellie asked, looking at the DVD boxes.

"Depends if we have a running DVD player. I don't know why this person kept around damn DVDs when there's no place to watch them."

"A what?"

"Nevermind, I'll check and let you know." Joel said. Ellie reached for a bag of M&Ms and opened it. She was surprised at the variety of colors of the candy. She popped a blue one into her mouth.

"God damn! How is it that you aren't super fat when you had all this stuff laying around?" Ellie remarked, popping a few more in her mouth.

"Don't eat too much, I don't want you getting' sick. That's probably all expired candy."

"Expired goodness!" Ellie exclaimed.

"Mhmm," Joel said. He placed the box with the key in Ellie's dresser drawer. "I'll have the locksmith see if he can identify where this key is from. I think he keeps records of every damn key used in this town."

Ellie was preoccupied reading the back of the DVD boxes. They all looked interesting to her, and it had been over a year since she saw an actual movie.

"Which one of these is your favorite?" Ellie asked, holding the DVDs up. Joel looked at the boxes, quickly analyzing them and thinking about the plot of each. He had forgotten most of the plots, since the last time he watched any of them was before the outbreak.

"I forgot most of the storylines, but I remember that _The Shining_ was a horror thriller type of move."

"It's scary? We have to watch it!" Ellie exclaimed, deciding that this would be the first movie of the four she'd watch. Joel chuckled and left the room, leaving Ellie to ponder over the items she found in the bag.

Ellie picked up the photograph that was in the back and inspected it. It was an extremely old photo that was worn out, but the person was still clearly visible. There was a pretty woman in the photo with brown hair and blue eyes. The woman was thin, but her stomach was bulging out. She wasn't smiling in the photo, but her eyes were staring directly straight. She was wearing a jacket that had the Firefly symbol on it. Ellie put down the photo and popped a few more M&Ms into her mouth.

Ellie placed the photograph in the drawer, along with the mystery key that they found in the bag. She got up, leaving the mess on the floor.

"Joel?" Ellie called out.

"What?" He yelled from downstairs. Ellie went downstairs, following his voice. She found him crouched on the floor, fiddling with the television.

"I'm hungry." Joel turned around and gave her a strange look.

"Ellie, you literally just ate lunch and had candy after that."

"And?"

Joel sighed and got up, knowing that Ellie wouldn't give up until she got more food in her. She grinned, glad that she could eat more.

"Now, I don't want you spoilin' your dinner. We're going to the dining hall and Tommy told me that there's going to be a lot of good food tonight." Joel said, opening the cabinet. He took out the bread and Nutella, deciding to make a sandwich like he did for Ellie's breakfast.

"Chocolate bread? Fuck yes!" Ellie exclaimed, running over to Joel. He finished making the sandwich and placed it on a plate. Ellie, whose mouth was watering, was about to grab the sandwich when Joel yanked the plate away.

"Hey!" Ellie cried out. Joel grabbed a kitchen knife and cut it in half, giving Ellie only one.

"What the hell? Why'd you cut it in half?" Ellie complained.

"Because I want you to be hungry for the damn feast they're havin' tonight. You'll live." Joel said, placing the other half on another plate. He stuck the plate in the fridge, which was actually working thanks to the electricity.

Though Ellie wanted the entire sandwich, she knew that Joel was right.

"Well, better than nothing." Ellie said, shoving half of the whole thing in her mouth.

"Jesus, Ellie." Joel grimaced at the sight. He noticed that once there was plenty of food around, that Ellie was a total eating machine. The past few days they were in Jackson, he noticed that she would fill her plate, eat it all within a few minutes, and then get up for seconds. That was, of course, whenever she didn't feel socially awkward around new members of the town they were meeting.

Ellie grinned sheepishly and showed down her chewing. "Sorry."

A few hours later, Ellie and Joel went to dinner. Joel was right, it was a feast. There was a much larger variety of food this time, and it seemed a lot more crowded than usual.

"Woah!" Ellie exclaimed as the two walked into the dining hall.

"You better be hungry." Joel said, both as a joke and a slight warning for eating earlier in the day. Ellie grinned.

"I'm fucking starving!"

The two walked towards the table, but Joel was walking a lot slower than Ellie wanted him to. She was excited for all the food that was about to enter her mouth tonight, and she didn't want to wait another second.

"Come on, fucking walk faster!" She exclaimed. Ellie grabbed Joel's hand and dragged him to the end of the food tables, where the plates and silverware were kept. Joel laughed, keeping up with Ellie.

"Calm yourself." He said, grabbing a plate after Ellie did. He could see why Ellie was excited though. There was a large variety of food, and the entire room was buzzing with excitement.

Ellie started off by grabbing a generous portion of deer meat and placing it onto her plate. As she went down the table, she started to pile up her plate. Ellie didn't even know what half of the things being served even were. The person ahead of her poured a brown substance on top of his mashed potatoes, so she did the same. She grabbed a large portion of a red wiggly looking food, which smelled good.

"Joel, what's this wiggly stuff?" Ellie asked.

"That's pasta, I reckon you'll love it." Joel explained, grabbing some for himself. Ellie smiled and grabbed a dinner roll and some crispy brown meat. Ellie was about to go and sit down, when she ran into someone, nearly spilling her whole plate.

"Watch where you're fucking going!" The person grumbled. Ellie noticed that it was actually a kid about her age, but not someone she recognized from her class. It was a boy, about an inch and a half taller than she was. He had short dark brown hair and light blue eyes, and was wearing a black shirt that said "Metallica" in bold white letters.

"Shit, sorry! I didn't see you." She said, apologizing. The boy scoffed and walked off.

"Rude piece of shit," Ellie said to herself. She scanned the crowd and eventually found a seat with Tommy and Maria. Joel was still at the food table, so she decided to let him find her. She didn't want to wait another second before eating.

"Hey Ellie!" Tommy exclaimed, looking at her plate. "Wow, are you going to eat all of that?"

Ellie scoffed. "Watch me." Maria laughed and took a bite of deer. Ellie grabbed her fork and decided to try the "pasta" first. It was strange looking, and it slipped off of her fork every time she tried to eat it. Tommy laughed.

"Try twirlin' your fork like this. Then it all stays." He explained, showing her with his own food. Ellie nodded, and to her excitement it worked. She put the fork of food in her mouth, experiencing a burst of flavor.

"This is so good!" She exclaimed, excited about eating more. Joel found Ellie with his brother and sat down with them all. His plate was also full, but it looked like Ellie was eating a lot more than he was.

"So, why is there a feast today?" Joel asked, cutting his deer.

"We have somethin' like this every week. We're growin' crops and we have livestock, so we have a good amount to work with for food. Everyone loves it, especially when the food hunters bring deer or elk for us to eat." Maria explained.

Ellie was mostly silent for the duration of the dinner because she was so focused on the food, enjoying every plate and morsel. Joel told her to slow down multiple times, but realized that it was useless since she was going to eat more anyway. She even got up for some dessert, which was some sort of warm chocolate cake with icing.

"I'll be right back," Ellie said, getting up. She went to the food table to grab more napkins, when she bumped into someone – again.

"Sorry! I—"

"Fucking hell that's the second time today!" The person said angrily. Ellie realized it was the same person she bumped into before: the boy with dark brown hair and blue eyes. He was looking at her, irritated. Ellie rolled her eyes.

"You know, maybe you should watch where you're fucking going, because I was taking a clear straight path to the food table when you knocked into me! Get that stick out of your ass and lighten up." Ellie ranted. The boy seemed surprised at her outburst. The surprised look on his face almost made her laugh.

The boy glared at her and started walking towards the same table that Ellie was, and a moment of awkwardness filled the air. Ellie grabbed a few napkins, as did the strange boy. He was about to walk away to his own table, but Ellie got curious.

"Hey wait." She said. The boy stopped and turned around, looking annoyed. Ellie ignored his facial expression.

"You uh, go to school here? You look like you're a teenager. I haven't really seen you around." Ellie asked. The boy raised an eyebrow, both skeptical and surprised.

"Fuck that place." He simply said, before walking off. Ellie was left confused and somewhat intrigued. " _Maybe this boy just ditches school everyday_." She thought to herself.

Ellie watched the boy walk off to his table, where he was sitting with a few adults. He looked disinterested in their conversation and was quietly finishing his plate. She walked back to her spot with Joel, but continued to watch the boy. He was picking at his food and staring at his plate. He looked sort of annoyed, and Ellie noticed that his mother handed him something. He got up and started walking towards the exit of the dining hall. The boy stopped and looked at Ellie, who he caught staring at him. She quickly turned red and pretended to look at Joel and Tommy. When she looked up, he was gone.

After dinner, Joel and Ellie spent the rest of the evening sitting in the living room and talking.

"Hey Joel?" Ellie said, looking up at him.

"Hm?"

"Why is six afraid of seven?" Ellie asked, a grin spreading across her face. Joel groaned and leaned back on the couch.

"How many damn jokes are in that book?" Joel complained, knowing he was about to hear a terrible pun.

"Because seven eight nine!" Ellie exclaimed, laughing. Joel groaned again, but he couldn't help smiling a little bit.

"Get it? Seven ate night."

"Yeah, kiddo. I got it."

Ellie proceeded with more jokes, some of which she didn't get.

"Joel, what do they mean when they say the partner was a stalemate?" Ellie asked, referring to one of the jokes she told him back in Pittsburgh. Joel's eyes quickly widened and he turned a little bit red.

"You know, kiddo, I think you should go to bed. You have school tomorrow."

"Aw man! Fuck that place!" Ellie complained. Joel chuckled and got off the couch. Ellie followed him up the stairs, before entering her own room. Joel was a little bit surprised, but he let it go. He knew that it would make Ellie's adjustment to Jackson a lot smoother.

"I think I'm gonna try to sleep in here tonight." Ellie said, climbing into her bed.

"Good night, kiddo."

"G'nite Joel."

~One week later~

For the past week, Ellie and Joel had developed a regular morning routine. Ellie had to get up to go to school, and Joel had to go to his new job. Ellie would come home in the early afternoon, usually staying home alone for a few hours while Joel went off with the food hunters or helping Tommy with some tasks. He would sometimes bring home new snacks and food items for Ellie to try, or they would go off to the dining hall to eat meals with Maria and Tommy. Occasionally, Betty would come over and try to talk to Joel. He was friendly to her, but he wasn't interested in any romantic relationship with her, even though Tommy teased him about it. Mark, her son, talked to Ellie twice during the week – once asking about class related stuff and once about her past, which Ellie didn't give much information about. She also attended class everyday and didn't get into any trouble, despite the fact that class was extremely boring and she was half asleep for most of it anyway. One week into her school life, Ellie accepted the fact that she wouldn't be making friends with anyone her age.

 _Beep Beep Beep Beep_

Ellie jumped up, startled. She quickly shut off her alarm, extremely irritated. Joel had moved the alarm clock to her room, knowing that it was loud enough to wake him up. Ellie knew that Joel wouldn't let her skip school or sleep in longer, so she decided to avoid the morning arguments and just get out of bed.

Ellie walked into Joel's room and noticed that he was already up. Without saying a word, she sleepily entered the bathroom and got ready. Meanwhile, Joel made breakfast.

The rest of the morning was spent in the dining room, where Joel made Ellie a Nutella sandwich and the two ate breakfast together.

Afterwards, they walked to Ellie's school building together. The bell rang, and Ellie gave Joel a quick goodbye hug before unhappily walking into the building. Joel then went off to work.

Ellie walked into her classroom, expecting the same bullshit that she experienced before. She sat across from Tina and her friends, since they weren't generous enough to let her choose her own seat. Mackenzie began to teach the math lesson, and Ellie was too tired to pay attention.

About an hour later, Ellie was very close to falling asleep. She didn't care if Mackenzie noticed or complained, but she thought that learning about imaginary numbers was utterly useless. Her voice was droning on and on, and Ellie was about to fall asleep when—

A large thud startled Ellie, and she shot straight up in her seat. She looked at the door, which she realized was opened. Mackenzie, and the entire class, turned around to see another kid standing at the entrance.

Ellie gasped and turned slightly red. It was the same kid she ran into last night in the dining halls.

" _That's the grumpy asshole from yesterday!"_ Ellie thought. His bright blue eyes met Ellie's, and her stomach churned slightly in nervousness. She would see him in the dining hall every time she went, but would get nothing more from him other than a blank stare or a huff of annoyance.

"Nice of you to join us, Luke." Mackenzie said, looking at the boy in an annoyed manner. "We haven't seen you in two weeks."

The boy, who Ellie realized was called Luke, huffed slightly.

"I'm so happy to be here Mackenzie." He said sarcastically. He looked around the classroom and took the one empty spot, which was right next to Ellie. Mackenzie rolled her eyes and continued teaching.

"Uh, hi." Ellie said quietly, looking at Luke. He looked at her strangely. Ellie felt a bit nervous, not knowing what he was going to do. He turned away and stared straight ahead.

"Hello, weirdo from dining hall." He replied.

"It's Ellie." She replied, annoyed. This guy was a total asshole. It was strange to Ellie how none of the kids in the town cared to be nice.

Except for Mark, though. He was friendly to her face, and he didn't seem to participate in Tina's gossiping activities during class. They barely spoke though, and Joel seemed to scare him off when he was talking to her in the dining hall.

"So, why'd you show up today? I thought you hated this place." Ellie asked, deciding to ignore his previous comment. Luke, without looking at her, huffed in annoyance. There seemed to be a long silence, and it was awkward for Ellie. After what seemed like hours, he finally said:

"My parents."

Ellie looked at him in surprise, not expecting a response after that long silence. She simply nodded, wondering why this boy was being so cold to her.

It didn't look like Ellie was the only person he didn't want to speak to. Ellie noticed that he wasn't speaking with anyone else in the class, so she assumed he didn't have friends either.

"It's time for the half hour break. I expect you all to come back." Mackenzie announced. The students all sighed in relief.

A movement in the corner of her eye caught Ellie's attention. She noticed that Luke got up and immediately left the classroom. Curious, Ellie got up and left the classroom as well. She looked around the building, before noticing that Luke was exiting it.

Luke was heading towards the playground, and it didn't look like he was interested in talking to anybody. There weren't any kids on the playground, since Luke ran off quickly before the other kids showed up. Ellie followed him quietly, wondering where he was off to. She didn't let him notice her, of course, since he would probably snap at her. Luke started walking towards the fence, and Ellie had a strange feeling about what he was going to do next.

"What the fuck are you doing, Luke?" She asked herself. She watched him jump up onto the top of the fence, before swinging his legs over and hopping off on the other side. Onto the "forbidden" territory.

Ellie ran towards the fence, wondering what the hell he was up to. She had a pistol and her switchblade hidden with her, but she didn't notice Luke carrying any weapons with him. She was about to hop up onto and over the fence, before remembering what happened the last time she did so.

" _Should I go after him? He just went into the woods without any weapons, and it's dangerous…But Joel said I should never do it again, and he'd probably get pissed if he found out. But what if Luke gets in trouble…"_ Ellie thought. She was having an internal debate with herself, but decided to hop the fence anyway.

"Fuck it." She said to herself as she hopped over the fence. Ellie was armed, and she knew well enough that she could take care of herself if any trouble showed up. She scanned the area to see if she could find Luke, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Wait, those footprints are probably his," Ellie figured, quickly following them. She looked around her surroundings, realizing she never went in this direction the last time she jumped the fence.

Ellie quickly and quietly followed Luke's footsteps, being extremely careful about her surroundings. She didn't hear any infected or any strange people in the woods, which was a good sign. She was crouched down the entire time, listening intently. Ellie had her pistol in her hand and her switchblade in a spot easy to reach, just in case.

Luke's footsteps headed further in the woods, and Ellie was starting to wonder whether or not she should continue. She didn't want to get lost, but she was also extremely curious about where Luke was and why he was in the woods.

Ellie heard a crackling sound and immediately froze. She had her pistol in her hands, well prepared to shoot anything that could potentially attack her. She scanned the area around her, seeing nothing. Ellie then moved a few steps forward, before noticing Luke.

Luke was standing alone in the woods, staring off into the distance. He picked up a stone and threw it straight ahead. Ellie was momentarily startled, but realized that he had thrown the stone into a lake.

" _Wait, what?"_ Ellie thought to herself. She glanced in the same direction Luke was looking in, and there was a large glistening lake ahead of him. The stone bounced on the water six times before sinking into it. _"Woah, this is pretty cool."_

Luke sat down on the ground, just staring out at the lake. It was peaceful and serene, and there didn't seem to be any garbage or dead bodies lying around anywhere. There were small flowers growing on the edge of the lake, and a few moss covered rocks as well. Luke leaned back against a tree and smiled lightly.

Ellie was surprised to see him smile, since he always seemed to be in a foul mood. The lake in the banned woods seemed to be a safe place for him, at least that's what Ellie thought.

Luke stood up and walked towards the water. He bent down and touched it with his fingers, watching it ripple.

"Where to, boss?" A deep, masculine voice from deeper within the woods yelled. Ellie gasped quietly and stayed hidden. Luke didn't seem to hear anything at all, since he was closer to the lake.

"Fuck!" Ellie whispered to herself, becoming ready to attack the strangers in the woods. She knew that the food hunters from the town weren't coming out today, so the man she just heard was definitely a stranger. Ellie heard a rustling sound from the distance, and saw a bulky looking man approaching the lake. He wasn't close to Ellie, and he couldn't see her, but he had his eye on Luke. Luke didn't notice him, since his back was turned. It looked like the man was trying to sneak up on him. He had a revolver in his hand, and he was inching his way towards Luke.

Ellie, who knew that Luke was about to be attacked, left her spot and quietly trailed behind the bulky man. He didn't notice her, since she was stealthily crouching behind him. Ellie didn't want to shoot him, since the gunshots would attract attention to the other strangers in the woods.

The man was about ten feet away from Luke, and looked like he was ready to sneak up behind him and grab him. Ellie slowly and quietly took out her switchblade and opened it.

" _Well fuck, here goes nothing."_ Ellie thought. She quickly raised her switchblade and drove it into the stranger's neck. Before he could let out a scream or attack her, she dragged the knife across his neck and left his throat cut wide open and bleeding. Luke, who heard the commotion, turned around and gasped in surprise.

"What th—" He started, gaping at the sight. Ellie ran up to him and covered his mouth with her hand.

"Not now." She whispered. She put her finger to her lips and gestured for him to be quiet. She then grabbed his hand and ran away from the lake. Luke, to Ellie's surprise, didn't hesitate at all. He ran with her, quickly and quietly. Ellie and Luke followed the footsteps back to the gate, running away from the area where the hunters were. To their luck, no one chased them or followed them back to the gate. They were probably going to notice their dead friend soon enough, though.

Ellie quickly jumped over the fence and landed in the familiar park of her new hometown. Luke quickly followed, sighing in relief that he was safe.

"Phew, that was—" Ellie started.

"What the hell were you doing in the woods?!" Luke interrupted, looking at Ellie angrily.

"Excuse me? Apparently I was saving your stupid ass from getting killed!" Ellie yelled back, turning red with anger. _"I save his life, and he still acts like a fucking ass!"_

"Why the hell were you even in the woods? Were you following me?" Luke yelled, crossing his arms.

"Considering these woods are fucking forbidden for everyone except the food hunters, I was wondering where your shitface was running off to!"

"It's none of your business!" Luke yelled back, his face fuming with anger.

"Look," Ellie said, calming down. "I'm sorry I followed you into the woods. But I went there last week and there were some pretty sketchy people lurking around nearby. I just went there to make sure there was no trouble." Ellie said hoping Luke would stop being angry with her.

To her surprise, Luke's expression softened. He seemed somewhat curious now.

"Why did you go to the woods?" He asked.

"I got bored as fuck during class, and Maria told me the woods were not allowed. I guess curiosity got the best of me. Also, I wanted to get away from the assholes from our class." Ellie replied. Luke chuckled lightly, much to Ellie's relief.

Luke didn't say anything; he was just staring at the ground. He wasn't making eye contact with Ellie.

"Thanks." He said, before walking away. Ellie looked at him as he walked away, both confused and intrigued. Luke was different from the other kids in their class, and he seemed to hate them as well. He also didn't seem afraid to run off into the woods alone, so Ellie assumed that he wasn't sheltered in Jackson his whole life. Ellie noticed something small and black peaking out of the back of Luke's belt as he walked off.

" _So he was armed after all."_ Ellie thought to herself.

Ellie decided to go home instead of returning to class. She figured that about an hour had passed since the break started, and that class was back in session by now. Ellie noticed that Luke was headed in the opposite direction of the school, so she figured he was ditching as well.

"Fuck that place." Ellie said out loud, remembering that those were the exact words that Luke said about the school. Ellie exited the park and started walking back home when—

" _Ellie._ " A deep and masculine voice called out to her, sounding angry. Ellie jumped and turned around.

"Oh fuck."

 **That's the end of chapter 4! Sorry it took a little longer than usual to post, I had a lot of ideas of how this one could go so it was sort of hard to put it together. Anyways, what do you guys think of this chapter? I made it pretty long for you guys :) What do you guys think of Luke? What the hell is up with that weird door in Ellie's room, and the bag of stuff that she found? Please please review the chapter and tell me what you guys think! Thank you to all of my readers, and thank you to everyone who reviewed and favorited and followed. Chapter 5 will be up soon! Until then, please review and tell me what you all think of what's happening so far!**


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